🐺 OpenAI picked Cadre. Callaway hiring an AI Czar.

OpenAI also just named a San Diego firm one of its official Service Partners. That puts Cadre AI in a small group of vetted shops OpenAI sends customers to when they need help actually shipping AI inside their business.

Two more San Diego companies worth knowing about this week. Plus a One Cool Role at a Carlsbad institution you wouldn't expect.

Howl yeah, let's dive in.

Cadre AI — 2 SD Roles + 1 Remote

Just named an official OpenAI Service Partner. AI implementation firm helping mid-market companies actually ship.

Why they matter:

OpenAI's Service Partner program is selective. They use it to send customers to vetted shops that can actually implement AI inside real businesses, not just pitch slides about it.

In January 2026, Cadre AI joined that roster.

Cadre helps B2B and consumer services companies with $30M to $500M in revenue ship AI inside their operations. Strategy, workflow automation, and training that drives EBITDA. Not transformation theater. Real deployments at the scale where AI either earns its keep or doesn't.

The fact that one of their open roles is "Forward Deployed AI Engineer" tells you everything about how they work. They embed engineers with clients to ship.

Momentum signals:

• Named an official OpenAI Service Partner (January 2026)

• Hosted AI Leadership Workshop for SD executives (January 2026)

• Launched the AI Maturity Index assessment tool (2026)

Open roles:

• Forward Deployed AI Engineer — San Diego

• AI Engineer Intern — San Diego

• VP of Training & Enablement — USA Remote

• All open roles

If you'd rather ship AI inside real businesses than build at a frontier lab, this is the gig. The Forward Deployed role especially.

Connect — 2 SD Roles

The 40-year-old nonprofit at the center of San Diego's innovation ecosystem. Just brought on a new Director of Tech and Defense.

Why they matter:

If you've worked at a San Diego startup in the last decade, you've probably been in a room Connect put together.

Connect builds the connective tissue of San Diego's innovation economy. Capital introductions, advisor matchmaking, and programs like the annual "Cool Companies" cohort that gets venture-ready startups in front of national VCs. Tech and life sciences both.

In 2025, companies in the Connect orbit raised $580M. 355 startups participated in their programs.

This month, Connect brought on Marshall Fritz as Director of Tech and Defense to lead innovation and capital pathways at the intersection of those two sectors. They're hiring two more.

Momentum signals:

• Marshall Fritz appointed Director of Tech and Defense (April 2026)

• $580M raised by Connect-supported companies in 2025

• 355 startups supported through Connect programs in 2025

• Annual "Cool Companies" venture pitch series running into its next cohort

Open roles:

• Head of Partnerships & Growth

• Marketing & Events Coordinator

• All open roles

40 years in, Connect is the rare nonprofit where the seat actually shapes the city. If you've spent time in SD's startup ecosystem and want to put your fingerprints on what comes next, this is one of the few jobs that lets you.

Wildfire Systems — 1 Remote Role, SD HQ

Powers shopping rewards for the world's biggest banks and fintechs. Just landed at #575 on Inc. 5000 with 721% revenue growth.

Why they matter:

Most cashback you've ever earned probably ran through software you've never heard of.

Wildfire Systems builds the white-label rewards infrastructure behind some of the world's largest financial institutions, fintechs, and consumer platforms. Banks plug in Wildfire and suddenly they can offer their customers cashback, coupons, and loyalty rewards on every purchase, without building any of it themselves. Over 50,000 merchant programs, now in 185 countries.

In April 2026, Wildfire partnered with Credit Key to monetize B2B marketplace transactions through affiliate commerce and BNPL financing. Earlier this year they launched a debit card rewards program with Bold.org for purchases on AI platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini. And in 2025, they hit #575 on the Inc. 5000 with 721% revenue growth.

Momentum signals:

• Credit Key partnership for B2B BNPL affiliate monetization (April 2026)

• White-label portal expanded to 185 countries with 10K+ international merchant programs (March 2026)

• Bold.org partnership: debit card rewards for spending on AI platforms (2026)

• Inc. 5000 #575 with 721% revenue growth (2025)

Open role:

• Client Marketing Director — Remote ($150K to $180K)

$150K to $180K. Remote. The kind of client-marketing seat where your work shows up in the revenue numbers of the world's largest fintechs.

One Cool Role

A different kind of pick this week. One role at a company most San Diegans have never thought of as a tech employer.

Senior Director, AI — Callaway Golf, Carlsbad

Yes, that Callaway. The one that just renamed itself back to Callaway Golf Company in January, divesting Topgolf and Jack Wolfskin to double down on equipment, balls, and accessories.

This is a real enterprise AI leadership role. Own the company-wide AI vision. Chair the AI governance board. Define the operating model. Work directly with the C-suite. Not a tech-adjacent gig at a sports brand. A serious AI seat at a public company leaning into AI as a competitive lever.

If you're a senior AI leader who wants to put your stamp on a consumer brand most people grew up with, this kind of role doesn't come around often. Plus 14 other Carlsbad roles open across engineering, ops, and marketing.

All open Callaway roles.

We just crossed 1,000 in the pack this week.

Welcome to everyone who joined. We don't share roles for the sake of sharing them. We're trying to find the actual right fit for the actual right person.

That works better when you tell us what you're looking for.

Over 460 of you already have. The more we know about your search, the better we can look out for you.

It takes 2 minutes.

Tell us what you're looking for

In case you missed it

Three companies from last week still worth your time:

• mPower Technology — Lockheed-backed flexible solar tech for satellites. 2 senior leadership roles in San Diego: VP of Engineering and Director of QA.

• Condor — Just raised $24M Series A from Insight Partners to scale their AI Financial Intelligence Platform for life sciences. 6 remote roles, SD HQ.

• Element Biosciences — Fast Company Most Innovative 2026, plus the $100 genome milestone. 11 SD roles across R&D, ops, and commercial.

Let's help good people find great San Diego teams.

Jonah 🐺

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