OpenRouterProgram Manager, Provider Partnerships
OpenRouter is hiring a Program Manager, Provider Partnerships for a remote role open to applicants in United States. Level rates it ; you can apply on OpenRouter.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this role Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- The posting lists this role as remote.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include program management, partner management and ecosystem operations.
- Level classifies it as a mid-level role.
- Level lists 26 other open roles at OpenRouter.
AI in this role
Program Manager to scale OpenRouter's provider ecosystem, managing lifecycles and partner tiers for LLMs.
About OpenRouter
OpenRouter is the unified interface for LLMs. We route billions of tokens every month, helping developers and enterprises access, manage, and optimize their AI use across 400+ models and providers — without worrying about lock-in, capacity constraints, downtime, or complex integrations.
Our provider ecosystem is the foundation of that marketplace. As the number of model labs and inference providers we work with grows, the relationships behind them have to scale like a product — with consistent tiers, lifecycles, and standards — not as a set of one-off deals.
About the Role
We’re hiring a Program Manager to turn our Provider Program into a product. Today, provider relationships are managed one at a time; your job is to give them a repeatable structure so the ecosystem scales without adding headcount for every new partner.
You’ll own the standard provider lifecycle end to end — sourcing, onboarding, activation, QBR, and renewal — along with provider tiering (our “buckets”), SLAs, and the compliance cadence that keeps the program trustworthy. You’ll be the one person with context across every partnership, able to run program-wide operations (re-paper all providers, roll out a new compliance attestation, launch a new tier) without pulling individual partnership owners off their accounts.
You’ll also run our flagship programs, starting with MPEAP (Model Provider Early Access Program) and our verified/certified provider tracks. This is a high-ownership role that sits at the intersection of Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and Security.
What You’ll Do
Own the provider lifecycle. Define and operate the standard path from sourcing → onboarding → activation → QBR → renewal, with clear stage gates, owners, and SLAs.
Design provider tiering. Build and maintain the tiering framework (the “buckets”) that determines how providers are classified, what they get, and what’s expected of them.
Build programmatic structure that scales. Turn one-off relationships into repeatable systems — templates, playbooks, self-serve onboarding, and automated provider comms — so the program grows without linear headcount.
Run cross-program operations. Execute program-wide changes (re-paper all providers, launch a new tier, roll out a new compliance attestation) as a single coordinated motion.
Run the flagship programs. Operate MPEAP and the verified/certified provider tracks, from intake criteria to ongoing management.
Own the compliance cadence. Keep SLAs, attestations, and provider obligations on schedule and auditable.
Set the operating cadence. Run the rhythm of the team — reviews, reporting, and the operating cadence that keeps everyone aligned.
Partner cross-functionally. Work across Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and Security to unblock providers and ship program improvements.
About You
Programs + strategy background. You’ve built and run programs or strategy at a large, complex organization (e.g. a Salesforce-scale org) and know how to impose structure on ambiguity.
Highly organized systems thinker. You instinctively turn recurring work into repeatable, automatable processes and see where linear effort should become leverage.
Cross-functional operator. You’re comfortable owning operations that span Product, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and Security, and driving them to closure without formal authority.
High agency and bias to ship. You take end-to-end ownership, move fast, and thrive in a small, fast-moving team with intentionally fluid boundaries.
Strong written communication. You can turn complex, multi-stakeholder programs into clear docs, playbooks, and comms.
Bonus: familiarity with the AI ecosystem — model labs, inference providers, and what it takes to onboard and certify them.
What We Offer
A front-row seat to the AI ecosystem and direct relationships with the model labs and providers shaping it.
High ownership and the room to define a program from the ground up.
Remote-first (US), competitive salary and equity, fully covered health/dental/vision, unlimited PTO, a WFH budget, and quarterly offsites.
If you don’t think you meet all of the criteria above but are still interested in the role, please apply. Nobody checks every box, and we’re looking for someone excited to build this program with us.
How we rate this
Program Manager, Provider Partnerships at OpenRouter rates 65 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where program management was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where partner management was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where ecosystem operations was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where sla management was part of your work. What did you do?
- Describe a typical day in a role like this one: which parts run through AI directly?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Program Management, Partner Management, Ecosystem Operations, and Sla Management. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
- Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.
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