Incentive Operations Lead, AWS

About the Team

OpenAI’s Partnerships organization works closely with strategic cloud providers and ecosystem partners to accelerate adoption of OpenAI products and enable scalable customer success. As OpenAI’s strategic relationship with AWS continues to expand, we are building the operational foundation required to manage complex incentive funding programs at scale.

We are seeking an Incentive Operations Lead, AWS to build and run the operating infrastructure that powers OpenAI’s AWS incentive programs. This role will own the systems, workflows, controls, and operational processes required to execute AWS funding programs efficiently across internal teams and external partners.

You will work at the center of Partnerships, Finance, Procurement, Operations, and GTM teams to ensure AWS incentive funding is deployed accurately, compliantly, and with maximum operational efficiency.

About the Role

As the Incentive Operations Lead, AWS, you will design and operationalize the end-to-end execution model for AWS incentive funding across OpenAI. This includes managing workflows tied to Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) funding, standard AWS partner incentive programs, claims and reimbursement processes, partner payments, spend tracking, and reporting infrastructure.

You will be responsible for building scalable operational systems that enable OpenAI to efficiently deploy, track, reconcile, and optimize AWS incentive investments. This role requires exceptional operational rigor, process design expertise, and the ability to navigate complex cross-functional environments.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone who enjoys building operational infrastructure from the ground up and creating scalable systems that support strategic business growth.

You Will

• Build and manage the operating model required to execute AWS incentive funding programs at scale, including both Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) funding and broader AWS partner incentive programs.

• Design and operationalize end-to-end workflows for funding requests, including:

  • Intake and submission

  • Eligibility validation

  • Approval routing

  • Partner selection

  • Documentation management

  • Funding tracking and reconciliation

• Define and implement the mechanics of funding delivery across multiple operating paths, including:

  • AWS-funded partner reimbursements

  • OpenAI-funded partner payments

  • Hybrid funding models

• Manage the submission, validation, and reconciliation of claims and reimbursement requests with AWS to ensure timely and accurate funding recovery.

• Establish auditable procurement, finance, and operational processes that support internal controls, compliance requirements, and scalable program execution.

• Build and maintain tracking infrastructure for:

  • Incentive utilization

  • Committed and actual spend

  • Funding forecasts

  • Partner participation

  • Program outcomes and ROI

• Partner closely with Data, Systems, Finance, and Operations teams to automate reporting, ROI measurement, and reconciliation workflows wherever possible.

• Translate AWS incentive program requirements and policies into repeatable internal processes, tooling, documentation, and field guidance.

• Drive operational excellence across incentive programs by identifying bottlenecks, reducing manual processes, and improving visibility into funding performance.
  

You Might Thrive in This Role If You

• Have experience building operational processes for partner programs, incentive funding, procurement, finance operations, or strategic alliances.

• Are highly detail-oriented and comfortable managing complex workflows with multiple stakeholders and dependencies.

• Enjoy designing scalable systems and improving operational efficiency through automation and process optimization.

• Have strong analytical and organizational skills, with the ability to manage budgets, claims, reconciliations, and reporting infrastructure.

• Can navigate ambiguity and independently create structure in fast-moving environments.

• Communicate clearly and effectively across technical, operational, and executive audiences.

• Thrive in cross-functional environments and enjoy partnering across Finance, GTM, Partnerships, Operations, and Systems teams.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in operations, finance operations, partner programs, procurement, business operations, or related fields.

• Experience working with AWS incentive programs, Strategic Collaboration Agreements (SCAs), MDF/co-sell funding, or cloud partner ecosystems.

• Experience managing reimbursement processes, claims operations, or partner payment workflows.

• Familiarity with procurement systems, financial controls, and operational compliance processes.

• Experience building operational tooling, dashboards, or reporting systems.

• Strong analytical skills and experience working with large datasets, forecasting, or spend management.

• Familiarity with SaaS, cloud infrastructure, AI, or enterprise technology ecosystems.

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 safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

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