Hybrid Director of Strategic Finance, Payments – Platform

at OpenAI

• Job title: Director of Strategic Finance, Payments – Platform
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Lead
• Salary: $265,000 - $325,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Tech skills: SQL
• Location requirements: Hybrid, San Francisco, United States

About the role

• Director of Strategic Finance at OpenAI managing financial performance and influencing payment strategies for products. Partnering closely with teams to optimize investment and financial planning across the Payments and Integrity platform.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary strategic finance partner for Payments and Integrity Product and Engineering Teams, with direct ownership of the payments and platform fees line item on the P&L, including forecasting, variance analysis, and margin impact as volumes scale.
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Business Development to influence payments-related decisions, including checkout design, vendor selection, and commercial deal structures, with a focus on optimizing net revenue and contribution margin.
• Own the end-to-end economics of payments, including processing fees, network costs, chargebacks, refunds, and fraud losses, and translate these dynamics into clear product and pricing tradeoffs.
• Drive payments cost optimization initiatives, including vendor negotiations, routing strategy, regional expansion tradeoffs, and tooling investments.
• Lead quarterly and long-range planning for the payments cost base, ensuring payments economics scale sustainably alongside new monetization models, including emerging commerce and agent-initiated transactions.
• Support special projects to continuously improve, automate, and scale forecasting and reporting tools, processes, and methodologies
• Stay updated on market trends and competitive dynamics to refine financial strategies.
• Collaborate with Accounting and FP&A teams to evolve financial forecasting and reporting processes.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in investment banking, consulting, or buy-side investing coupled with operational experience at a fast-paced, scaling company.
• Experience owning budgets for major functional areas within an organization, and working with operators on day-to-day execution to hit targets.
• Experience building and reviewing highly complex models, specifically in payments.
• A strong ability to critically evaluate opportunities and risks in financials.
• The ability to distill complex financial data into actionable insights and effectively communicate with leadership.
• Attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy in financial reporting and analysis.
• Enthusiasm for technology and artificial intelligence.
• Experience with SQL or a willingness to learn.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family
• Mental health and wellness support
• 401(k) plan with 50% matching
• Unlimited time off and 13 company holidays per year
• Paid parental leave (24 weeks paid birth-parent leave & 20-week paid parental leave) and family-planning support
• Annual learning & development stipend ($1,500 per year)