Travel Operations Lead

OpenAI•San Francisco, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for a Travel Operations Lead to own and mature the operating model behind OpenAI's executive and employee travel programs. This role will be hands-on in executive travel support while also building the policies, supplier relationships, data, systems, and AI-enabled workflows that allow the program to scale with speed, confidentiality, safety, and control. This person will oversee high-touch executive travel support, including complex commercial travel globally; manage travel agency and supplier performance; own the executive travel policy; and partner with Executive Business Partners to ensure travelers receive timely, high-quality support. The role will also own core employee travel operations, TMC support, on-the-road escalation management, executive travel reporting for tax and compliance purposes, and guest T&E programs.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in travel, executive operations, expense, corporate cards, sourcing, finance operations, or a related T&E role.
High AI fluency, with demonstrated ability to use AI tools to improve how work gets done, reduce manual effort, strengthen analysis, improve documentation, and create scalable operating leverage.
Strong understanding of how the in-trip experience is affected by disruptions, destination risk, traveler context, supplier performance, policy design, booking quality, and support responsiveness.
Ability to improve operational processes through better data, automation, workflow design, and exception-based ways of working.
Strong systems understanding, with the ability to understand how data flows across procurement, travel, finance, tax, card, and reporting platforms.
High attention to detail and a strong sense of ownership for data accuracy, completeness, confidentiality, and consistency.
Ability to identify patterns in operational issues and translate them into better processes, standards, controls, and system improvements.
Practical judgment around AI adoption, including where automation can accelerate work, where human review matters, and how to build trust with travelers and cross-functional partners.
Comfort working across HR, Finance, Accounting, Procurement Operations, Tax, Legal, Security, Executive Business Partners, and business stakeholders.
Clear communication skills and the ability to explain process requirements in a practical, enablement-focused way.
Sound judgment when handling confidential executive travel information, sensitive traveler data, guest information, and supplier performance concerns.
Ability to operate in ambiguity, bring structure to evolving processes, and raise the bar as volume and complexity increase.

Nice To Haves

Have worked on scaled travel programs and understand how global travel operations, supplier performance, policy, traveler experience, and data connect.
Have experience in high-touch, highly confidential, and fast-changing environments where judgment, discretion, and service quality matter.
Can set up program rules that scale with volume and complexity while preserving room for practical exception handling.
Understand how disruptions, risk, routing, supplier behavior, traveler profiles, and support timing affect trip outcomes.
Enjoy turning operational complexity into clear standards, better workflows, stronger controls, and smarter systems.
Are already using AI tools to improve quality, speed, analysis, documentation, traveler support, or decision support.
Can balance hands-on support with strategic program ownership and cross-functional influence.
Bring an ownership mindset and are comfortable being accountable for sensitive, visible, and operationally complex work.

Responsibilities

Own the executive travel operating model, including support workflows, escalation paths, SLA management, policy ownership, supplier coordination, and program governance.
Lead high-touch executive travel support including complex commercial travel globally, balancing speed, confidentiality, safety, and experience.
Manage the procurement process for executive travel, including supplier engagement, service expectations, documentation, spend visibility, and compliance with procurement and finance requirements.
Own and continuously improve the executive travel policy, translating edge cases into clear standards, practical guardrails, and scalable approval paths.
Partner with Executive Business Partners to optimize support, improve satisfaction, clarify handoffs, and ensure executives and travelers can travel safely and effectively.
Oversee employee travel support related to TMC service delivery, on-the-road support, disruption management, traveler enablement, and recurring issue resolution.
Own travel agency management for Navan and related program operations, including SLAs, KPIs, escalations, roadmap input, operational reviews, and continuous improvement.
Manage the Guest T&E program for new hires, candidates, and other business guests, creating scalable rules, support workflows, payment paths, and exception handling.
Build reporting and data routines for executive travel, tax, compliance, supplier performance, traveler experience, support volume, and operational risk.
Use AI tools to improve travel support workflows, documentation, triage, analytics, policy interpretation, exception routing, and recurring issue detection.
Partner cross-functionally with HR, Finance, Accounting, Procurement Operations, Tax, Legal, Security, Executive Business Partners, Recruiting, and business stakeholders.
Build clear documentation, SOPs, program standards, and operating rhythms that make travel support easier, more consistent, and more transparent.