Hardware Strategic Sourcing Manager, Optics

The role

You will own the sourcing strategy and supplier partnerships for fiber and optical interconnect components. This role supports the performance and scale of high-speed optical connectivity for next-generation AI systems.

What you will do

• Develop and execute a sourcing strategy for fiber and optical interconnect components.
• Own sourcing across optical fiber cable assemblies, harnesses, shuffles, backplanes, and other optical components.
• Identify, evaluate, qualify, and manage suppliers across the fiber and optical interconnect ecosystem.
• Lead RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs and recommend sourcing decisions.
• Partner with engineering teams to evaluate supplier capabilities.
• Translate technology roadmaps into sourcing strategies and supplier development plans.
• Negotiate supplier agreements covering pricing, engineering support, and supply commitments.
• Develop and maintain detailed cost models and pricing frameworks.
• Drive competitive cost structures through should-cost analysis and benchmarking.
• Collaborate with engineering and manufacturing teams to support supplier qualification and production ramp.

Required qualifications

• Ten or more years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, or supply-chain leadership within optical communications, fiber optics, high-speed interconnects, semiconductor
• Demonstrated experience sourcing fiber-optic components, optical cable assemblies, sourcing fiber connectivity, passive optical assemblies, optical packaging/assembly services, or similar high-volume
• Strong familiarity with the fiber and optical interconnect supply chain.
• Experience evaluating optical and interconnect suppliers against technical requirements.
• Understanding of the technical and supply-chain challenges associated with scaling high-speed optical connectivity in AI, hyperscale data-center, or high-performance computing environments.
• A proven track record of leading competitive sourcing processes, negotiating complex commercial agreements, and building long-term supplier partnerships.
• Expertise in should-cost modeling, open-book pricing, total cost of ownership, supplier cost structures, and commercial optimization for hardware components and assemblies.
• Experience securing supplier capacity and managing supply constraints across complex, multi-tier global supply chains.
• Experience supporting supplier qualification, product development, manufacturing readiness, program bring-up, production ramp, and ongoing supplier performance management.
• The technical credibility to collaborate effectively with optical, electrical, signal-integrity, systems, manufacturing, and reliability engineers.
• Strong analytical judgment.
• Experience working with global suppliers.

Nice to have

• Comfort operating in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment and building scalable sourcing processes where established playbooks do not yet exist.

About the company

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. The Hardware organization develops silicon and system-level solutions designed for the unique demands of advanced AI workloads.