About the role

Aplyr's Quick Take

This role is about building and leading OpenAI's first enterprise Sales Development team in North America. You'll design the structure, hire staff, and create strategies to convert interest into sales opportunities for large enterprises. It's a leadership position focused on establishing a new function from scratch.

Good fit

Ideal candidates have extensive experience in sales development, particularly in enterprise settings, and a strong background in building teams. You should be strategic, hands-on, and comfortable in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Worth noting

This is a ground-up build, which means you'll have significant autonomy but also face the challenges of starting from zero. The role reports directly to the Global Head of Sales Development, indicating a high level of visibility and influence within the organization.

About the team

OpenAI’s Enterprise Go-To-Market organization helps the world’s largest companies adopt and scale our AI platform across their business—from ChatGPT Enterprise to our developer platform and APIs.

We partner with organizations across Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Retail to build new AI-powered customer experiences, transform operations, and reimagine how work gets done in highly regulated and technically complex environments. As adoption accelerates through pilots, experimentation, and developer-led use cases, the GTM team turns that momentum into durable, enterprise-wide deployments.

Sales Development sits at the front of this motion—where technical curiosity becomes executive engagement and OpenAI’s enterprise relationships begin.

About the role

We are hiring a Head of North America Sales Development to build and lead OpenAI’s first enterprise Sales Development organization out of San Francisco. Reporting directly to the Global Head of Sales Development, this role is a core part of the Enterprise GTM leadership team.

This is a true 0 → 1 build. You will design the operating model, hire the initial leadership and SDR teams, and define how OpenAI engages, qualifies, and advances enterprise opportunities. Your mandate is to convert product usage, pilots, and inbound demand into high-quality, winnable pipeline for our Large Enterprise and Strategic Accounts teams.

In this role, you will

Stand up OpenAI’s first enterprise North America Sales Development function, including org design, hiring plan, tooling, and performance management.
Build and scale a North America SDR organization aligned to Large Enterprise, Strategic Accounts, and industry verticals.
Own the enterprise pipeline generation strategy, ensuring consistent, high-quality opportunity flow into the field.
Translate product usage, pilots, developer activity, and inbound interest into qualified enterprise opportunities.
Create vertical-specific and account-based SDR motions for Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Retail.
Partner with Sales, Field Engineering, Marketing, Partnerships, and Strategy & Ops to orchestrate a unified GTM front door.
Establish best-in-class outbound, inbound, ABM, product-led, and partner-sourced playbooks.
Build a data-driven operating system that connects SDR activity to pipeline quality, deal velocity, and revenue.
Recruit, coach, and develop first-line SDR leadership.
Serve as a strategic partner to the CRO and Sales leadership on where and how OpenAI invests to capture enterprise demand.
Serve as a strategic partner to the CRO and Sales leadership on where and how OpenAI invests to capture enterprise demand.

You may thrive in this role if you

Have 10+ years in enterprise sales, revenue, or GTM leadership.
Bring 3-5+ years of second-line SDR leadership building and managing managers.
Have built enterprise demand engines from scratch in product-driven or platform businesses.
Are fluent in product-led and usage-based GTM (PQLs, pilots, free-to-paid, expansion).
Have experience selling into regulated or high-stakes industries (FS, Life Sciences, Retail).
Are highly data-driven, with experience in pipeline analytics and forecasting.
Thrive in matrixed GTM organizations spanning Sales, Product, Marketing, and Partnerships.
Are a strong talent builder with the presence to engage senior enterprise and CRO-level stakeholders.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to sa

Skills & Tags

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Aplyr's read

OpenAI is a pioneering AI research organization focused on developing AGI to benefit humanity, attracting talent keen on ethical and innovative AI solutions.
Synthesized from recent postings & public sources

What's promising

•OpenAI is at the forefront of AI research, driving innovation in artificial general intelligence.
•The company emphasizes ethical AI development, appealing to those passionate about responsible technology.
•OpenAI offers diverse roles across engineering, sales, and creative fields, indicating a dynamic work environment.

What to watch

•OpenAI's rapid growth may lead to organizational challenges and resource strain.
•The focus on AGI poses inherent risks and ethical dilemmas that require careful navigation.
•Limited public information about internal culture and work-life balance may concern potential applicants.

Why OpenAI

•OpenAI's mission to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity sets it apart in the tech industry.
•The organization combines cutting-edge research with a strong emphasis on ethical AI practices.
•OpenAI's diverse hiring across global markets reflects its commitment to international impact and collaboration.

Aplyr’s read is generated by AI from public sources. Was it useful?

About OpenAI

OpenAI

openai.com

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OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research organization that aims to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. They develop advanced AI technologies and promote safe and responsible AI practices.