Art Director, Research Team

OpenAI is building general-purpose AI with the goal of benefiting all of humanity. The creative teams help ensure the work coming out of the lab is understood in the world through campaigns, launches, films, brand systems, and other formats that do not fit neatly into a single category. As a hands-on Art Director partnering with the Research team, you will shape how research stories are presented, translating complex ideas into clear visual storytelling across platforms.

What you’ll do

• Partner with researchers and creative teams to understand priorities, develop original concepts, and set visual direction for research stories, announcements, and demos, communicating ideas through treatments, mood boards, references, and design explorations.
• Translate complex research concepts, methods, and findings into compelling visual narratives, selecting imagery, typography, composition, and motion that serve the idea while preserving underlying meaning.
• Art direct and design across web, social, film, editorial, and experiences, guiding look and feel with filmmakers, designers, animators, illustrators, and other partners through clear briefs and actionable feedback, while staying actively involved in execution.
• Create prototypes and reusable visual systems that carry a creative idea across formats, collaborating with researchers on narratives and demos and exploring film graphics, imagery, and environments that bring research capabilities to life.
• Own visual direction from concept through delivery by reviewing work for craft, consistency, and clarity, managing multiple creative requests with partners, aligning on priorities, and adapting as research goals and production timelines evolve.

What you bring

• 5+ years of experience in both art direction and graphic design, with a portfolio showing original concepts, a strong visual point of view, and high-quality execution, including clear examples of your role in shaping direction.
• The ability to establish a cohesive visual direction and evolve it into systems across formats, balancing consistency with the needs of each story and medium.
• Strong hands-on craft in typography and design, with an understanding of how these elements work together in static and moving images.
• Experience turning an ambiguous brief into a clear creative approach, presenting and explaining ideas, and guiding execution as technical concepts and project needs change.
• An experimental mindset, with a broad range of visual references and comfort exploring multiple approaches before refining the strongest one.
• Interest in AI research, with the ability to ask thoughtful questions to understand unfamiliar ideas and preserve their meaning.
• Effective collaboration with researchers, filmmakers, marketers, and creative partners, including leading visual work and contributing hands-on to a shared creative vision.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts.
• Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit).
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match.
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks).
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees.
• 13+ paid company holidays and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more as required by applicable state or local law).
• Mental health and wellness support.
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage.
• Annual learning and development stipend to support professional growth.
• Daily meals in offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible.
• Relocation support for eligible employees.
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.

Compensation

$176,000 - $195,000 per year + Offers Equity. Base pay may vary based on multiple individualized factors. This role is at-will, and OpenAI reserves the right to modify base pay and other compensation components at any time based on individual performance, team or company results, or market conditions.

Location: San Francisco, CA (onsite)

Experience: 5+ years