Procurement Coordinator

About Team

Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and advancing toward AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world environments. Working across the full model and systems stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the physical constraints of real-world systems to improve people’s lives.

About Role

We’re looking for a Procurement Coordinator to support the day-to-day purchasing and logistics needs of our Robotics organization. You’ll follow up on orders, coordinate domestic and international shipments, work with suppliers and logistics providers, and keep the details organized from purchase request through delivery.

This is an entry-level position for someone who is organized, curious, and eager to take ownership. You don’t need years of procurement experience, but you should be comfortable asking questions, learning quickly, and following through. When an email goes unanswered, you pick up the phone. When a delivery is at risk, you find out why, identify the next step, and keep the right people informed.

You’ll also help improve how we work. We expect you to adopt AI tools and build practical automations that reduce repetitive tasks, improve visibility, and make the supply chain team more effective. This role offers an opportunity to build a foundation in procurement, logistics, and hardware operations.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA and requires in-person presence 4 days a week and up to 10% travel to vendor sites.

In this role you will:

- Follow up with internal teams to keep purchase requests and PO issuance moving on time, resolve missing information, and confirm that suppliers receive and acknowledge orders.

- Track open orders through delivery, maintain accurate supplier commitments, and proactively follow up on lead times, shipment dates, and overdue items.

- Coordinate domestic and international logistics, including scheduling couriers, arranging pickups, booking shipments, tracking deliveries, and resolving shipping exceptions.

- Prepare and check commercial invoices, packing lists, and other shipping documentation. Work with suppliers, customs brokers, and internal specialists to address customs questions and support timely clearance.

- Manage day-to-day coordination with third-party logistics providers (3PLs), including receiving, storage, outbound shipments, and resolving inventory or delivery discrepancies.

- Keep purchasing and logistics records current, communicate clear status updates, and help resolve order discrepancies, returns, and missing delivery documentation.

- Use AI, spreadsheets, and workflow automation tools to streamline order tracking, follow-up reminders, shipment updates, and routine reporting. Check that the resulting information is accurate and useful.

- Support the broader supply chain team as priorities shift. Take action on open issues, call suppliers when email isn’t working, and escalate risks early with clear context and proposed next steps.

You might thrive in this role if you:

- Are starting your career and want to build experience in procurement, logistics, or operations. Relevant experience can come from internships, school projects, part-time work, or other roles where you managed details and followed through.

- Are highly organized and attentive to detail. You can keep track of multiple orders, deadlines, and follow-ups without losing sight of what matters most.

- Have a bias for action. You’re comfortable contacting an unfamiliar supplier, asking direct questions, and following up persistently and professionally.

- Communicate clearly and close the loop. People know what’s happening, what’s blocked, and what you’re doing next.

- Are comfortable with spreadsheets and learning new systems. You actively experiment with AI tools and can turn a repetitive task into a more reliable workflow.

- Adapt well to changing priorities, ask for help when needed, and exercise sound judgment about when to act independently and when to escalate.

- Are curious about robotics, hardware, and how physical goods move through a supply chain. Prior exposure to purchasing systems, shipping, customs documentation, or warehouse operations is helpful but not required.

What success looks like:

Within the first 6 months, you will have:

- Established reliable tracking for your assigned orders, with current commitments, clear next actions, and timely follow-up.

- Built effective working relationships with suppliers, couriers, customs brokers, and 3PLs.

- Become dependable at coordinating routine domestic and international shipments, preparing documentation, and escalating exceptions appropriately.

- Earned the team’s trust through accurate records, responsive communication, and consistent follow-through.

- Implemented practical AI or automation improvements that reduce manual work while maintaining accuracy.

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 https://cdn.openai.com/policies/eeo-policy-statement.pdf.

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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