Lead Revenue Accounting, Technical (Strategic Partnerships)

About the Team OpenAI Finance helps ensure the organization is set up for success in pursuit of its mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Within Finance, the Technical Revenue team partners with Product, Strategic Partnerships, Business Development, Growth, Legal, Deal Desk, GTM, Strategic Finance, Revenue Accounting, and Finance Systems to enable scalable, audit-ready monetization. We advise on commercial and contract design, establish defensible accounting positions under ASC 606, and translate those conclusions into repeatable processes, systems, controls, and reporting. About the Role We’re looking for a Senior Manager of Revenue Recognition to lead revenue strategy and technical accounting for OpenAI’s strategic commercial deals. Reporting to the Head of Technical Revenue, you will serve as the primary revenue advisor for large, bespoke, and non-standard deals outside OpenAI’s standard product and service offerings. Your portfolio may include strategic collaborations, cloud marketplaces, platform and distribution deals, licensing and revenue-share models, joint go-to-market initiatives, research collaborations, and other emerging commercial structures. You will engage early in the deal lifecycle to help shape commercially viable, accounting-compliant, and operationally scalable outcomes. You will establish the accounting posture, identify required contract and product terms, define reporting and control requirements, and ensure that deal economics, billing flows, and revenue recognition remain aligned as the business evolves. This role requires strong technical accounting judgment, commercial fluency, executive communication, and the ability to create clarity and ownership in areas where precedent may not yet exist. This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. In this role, you will: Own technical revenue accounting for strategic commercial deals, including large, bespoke, and non-standard transactions outside OpenAI’s standard product and service offerings. Serve as the primary revenue advisor for strategic collaborations, cloud marketplaces, platform and distribution deals, licensing and revenue-share models, and other emerging commercial structures. Partner early with Strategic Partnerships, Product, GTM, Strategic Finance, Legal, Deal Desk, and Tax to understand and influence deal economics, pricing, contract terms, and operational design. Evaluate complex and ambiguous transactions under ASC 606, including principal-versus-agent considerations, gross-versus-net presentation, performance obligations, variable consideration, contract combinations, commitments, credits, incentives, and related-party considerations. Translate technical conclusions into practical commercial guardrails and establish clear intake, escalation, and decision-making frameworks for material deals and amendments. Defi