Data Center Infrastructure Engineering Program Manager

OpenAI

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Research Services 👥 201 employees 📍 San Francisco, CA, US Est. 2015

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with…

Job Overview

OpenAI is building the infrastructure foundation for the next generation of AI. The Data Center Engineering team defines the strategy, reference architectures, technical requirements, and delivery standards for the large-scale data centers that support OpenAI research, products, and infrastructure partners.

As a Data Center Infrastructure Engineering Program Manager, you will help turn complex infrastructure strategy into executable programs across electrical, mechanical, controls, network, hardware, construction, commissioning, deployment, and operations workstreams. You will partner with research, hardware engineering, data center engineering, site development, supply chain, security, EHS, finance, legal, operations, and external delivery partners to bring OpenAI's infrastructure vision to life.

About the Role

We are looking for an Engineering Program Manager (EPM) to lead assigned infrastructure programs focused on production and non-production network integration, controls coordination, and the design and deployment of data hall or whitespace facilities.

The EPM will support functional Directly Responsible Individuals (DRIs) across network, controls, structural, electrical, and mechanical disciplines. Key responsibilities include coordinating assigned workstreams and program controls, maintaining risks and interfaces, and supporting readiness within the network and data hall deployment track.

The ideal candidate thrives on bringing structure to complex environments characterized by ambiguous technical requirements, large partner ecosystems, tight deadlines, and high operational stakes. This individual must be adept at keeping teams aligned on decisions, risks, dependencies, schedules, and readiness criteria, and escalating gaps or decision points when needed.

Candidates should have a proven track record of managing technically challenging engineering programs across major lifecycle phases, including design, validation, procurement, construction, commissioning, deployment, and operational handoff.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate assigned infrastructure goals into clear workstream charters, scopes, milestones, owners, decision points, success metrics, resourcing assumptions, and execution plans.


• Build and maintain integrated execution plans for assigned programs covering network, controls, data hall design, whitespace deployment, commissioning preparation, and deployment readiness.


• Support coordination across network, controls, structural, electrical, mechanical, hardware integration, construction, commissioning, and operations teams.


• Work with third-party design teams to define design milestones from concept through detailed design, including basis-of-design development, requirements tracking, design reviews, technical comment resolution, change management, and release readiness.


• Maintain the dependency map, issue log, risk register, action tracker, and decision log for assigned network and data hall workstreams.


• Coordinate design and review milestones for network rooms, non-production network services, OT / IT interface points, rack deployment assumptions, telemetry interfaces, controls dependencies, and data hall deployment packages.


• Track building-level network and support-space interfaces such as MPOE, MMR, Network Core, WAN, support rooms, and associated handoff points where they affect assigned programs.


• Support the network and controls DRIs by organizing reviews, resolving cross-discipline gaps, surfacing decisions, and keeping partner deliverables aligned to schedule.


• Manage partner and vendor deliverables such as submittals, interface packages, installation assumptions, turn-up plans, readiness evidence, field issue logs, and corrective action tracking.


• Drive readiness tracking for assigned 1P, 3P, colo, and selected CSP programs, including bring-up sequencing, installation readiness, access dependencies, maintenance windows, and first-use criteria.


• Prepare clear status updates