Program Manager, Automation and Optimization - Recruiting

About the Role

As a Recruiting Optimization & Automation Program Manager, you will own and co-drive the automation roadmap for the recruiting function. You’ll translate recruiter and coordinator pain points into automation opportunities, partner with People Innovation Labs to build complex solutions, and, when appropriate, directly build and ship lightweight workflows yourself.

This role is perfect for someone who thrives at the intersection of recruiting operations, product thinking, and hands-on building. You will ensure OpenAI’s recruiting engine operates more efficiently and intelligently each quarter, with less manual friction and more leverage for recruiters.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Co-owning the recruiting automation roadmap: Partner with your peer Program Manager to prioritize high-impact automation opportunities across sourcing, interviewing, offers, and onboarding.
• Piloting and scaling AI-first workflows: Run experiments with new tools and agents, measure ROI, and decide when to expand or sunset.
• Building when needed: Create lightweight automations and dashboards yourself (e.g., Airtable automations, Ashby workflows, Snowflake SQL queries, ChatGPT prompts).
• Bridging recruiting & People Innovation Labs: Translate recruiter needs into requirements for custom builds and ensure smooth integration into daily workflows.
• Streamlining processes across tools: Optimize usage of Ashby, Juicebox, Airtable, Snowflake, Brighthire, ChatGPT, and custom tooling through automations and connective workflows.
• Measuring & reporting impact: Define success metrics (hours saved, adoption rates, cycle time reductions) and report outcomes to Recruiting leadership.
• Driving adoption in partnership with Enablement: Ensure new workflows land well with recruiters, sourcers, and coordinators.
• Safeguarding compliance & quality: Ensure automations support legal, ethical, and organizational standards.

We’re seeking:

• Recruiting systems fluency: 5–7+ years in Recruiting Operations, HR Tech, or adjacent roles; expertise with ATS/CRM systems (Ashby strongly preferred).
• Hands-on builder mindset: Comfortable rolling up your sleeves to ship automations directly (Zapier, Airtable scripting, Ashby automations, SQL queries, ChatGPT prompting).
• Program management excellence: Proven success in managing cross-functional projects and driving change adoption.
• Analytical ability: Strong proficiency with Google Sheets/Excel; SQL/Snowflake or BI experience a plus.
• AI & automation literacy: Familiar with AI tools and how they can be applied in recruiting workflows.
• Collaboration & influence skills: Able to work closely with technical partners (People Innovation Labs), fellow PMs, and business users.
• Bias for experimentation: Thrives on testing new ideas, iterating quickly, and making data-driven decisions.

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Want to design and build the future of recruiting work.
• Love to both shape strategy and ship practical solutions with your own hands.
• Get energy from removing manual work and creating leverage for teams.
• See yourself as a translator between recruiters and engineers.