OpenAI's head of safety is reportedly leaving as part of company reorganization

The role will be replaced by an executive in charge of both research and safety teams.

July 11, 2026 11:39 am EST

Along with a significant restructuring of OpenAI's safety and research teams, the company's head of safety systems is expected to leave his post, according to a new report. As first reported by Wired , Johannes Heidecke told OpenAI staff in a memo seen by Wired that he would be leaving the company. Heidecke first started at OpenAI in 2021, according to his LinkedIn.

According to the report, OpenAI's Saachi Jain, who has led OpenAI's safety teams before, will slot in as the interim head of safety systems following Heidecke's departure. Wired also reported that OpenAI's safety teams will report to Mia Glaese, who will become the company's new vice president of research and safety as part of the reorganization. OpenAI's chief research officer, Mark Chen, told Wired in a statement that it was "important that our safety work is integrated with frontier-model development, with an earlier and more direct role in shaping key model, product and launch decisions."

The staff shifts come on the heels of OpenAI's latest model release, GPT-5.6 , after it was recently approved by the US government. The company still has a Head of Preparedness on its roster, who was hired earlier this year to "prepare for and mitigate ... severe risks," as indicated by OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, on X .