OpenAI targets funded US research labs with new higher education role
The Academic Research Partnerships & Programs Lead will turn researcher pilots into sustained use of Pro, Codex, the API and ChatGPT Edu.
OpenAI is recruiting a lead to develop AI adoption programs with funded laboratories and R1 universities in the United States
OpenAI is recruiting an Academic Research Partnerships & Programs Lead to expand adoption of its AI products across funded laboratories and R1 universities in the United States.
Based in San Francisco or New York City, the role combines business development with program management. Its remit covers relationships with principal investigators, researchers, research software engineers, computing teams and university technology leaders.
The job description sets out a clear path from individual experimentation to wider institutional use. The successful candidate will identify priority labs, run pilot and fellows programs, address technical and institutional barriers, and develop routes from researchers to laboratories and universities.
OpenAI expects the lead to translate research workflows into sustained use of Pro, Codex, the API and ChatGPT Edu, working with its Solutions, Product and Education account teams.
From researcher pilots to institutional adoption
This is not simply an academic engagement position. The role carries adoption and expansion targets, including fellow selection, activation, retained usage, conversion and progression from individual researchers to institution-level deployment.
Discovery work will examine laboratory workflows, data and security requirements, procurement constraints and measures of success. The lead will also create product feedback, workflow documentation, case studies and other resources from early use.
Alongside those commercial and operational responsibilities, the appointee will establish a researcher community through events, communications and support. Phased access programs may include selection processes, onboarding, office hours and pilot goals.
Jayna Devani, Education Lead at OpenAI, described the recruitment as an attempt to narrow the distance between developments in frontier AI and their use by scientists. “It's hard to keep up with how quickly AI is changing research and we need to close that gap in health, science, and other public-benefit domains,” she wrote on LinkedIn.
Devani pointed to the scale of OpenAI’s existing academic relationships, writing that the team works with “top labs” at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the Max Planck Society, A*STAR Research, the University of Oxford and Stanford University.
But the remit is not limited to expanding product use. The new lead will also “engage in the hard questions around how AI is changing scientific research outputs & productivity e.g. IP, the nature of research, trust, funding,” Devani wrote. That places the unresolved consequences of AI adoption inside the role alongside partnerships, training and researcher access.
OpenAI seeks laboratory and AI experience
Candidates are expected to have experience in business development, program management, partnerships or technical go-to-market work involving higher education, research, developer or technical communities.
OpenAI is also seeking knowledge of funded labs, hard-science research or R1 universities, together with enough technical fluency to work with researchers and research IT teams. The position requires engagement across procurement, funders, administrators, executive sponsors and institutional technology functions.
A PhD and experience working within funded laboratory research are preferred, as is hands-on experience with AI platforms, developer products or research infrastructure. The position is listed for San Francisco and New York City.
