Data Center Infrastructure Engineering Program Manager (Network and Whitespace)

Details

OpenAI's Data Center Engineering team defines strategy, reference architectures, technical requirements, and delivery standards for large-scale data centers that support research, products, and infrastructure partners. As a Data Center Infrastructure Engineering Program Manager, you will 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.

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 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 dependency maps, issue logs, risk registers, action trackers, and decision logs 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 that affect assigned programs.
• Support 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 (submittals, interface packages, installation assumptions, turn-up plans, readiness evidence, field issue logs, corrective action tracking).
• Drive readiness tracking for 1P, 3P, colo, and selected CSP programs, including bring-up sequencing, installation readiness, access dependencies, maintenance windows, and first-use criteria.
• Prepare status updates, dashboards, and executive-ready summaries for the Industrial Compute lead and project stakeholders.
• Capture lessons learned from deployment and handoff activities and feed them back into playbooks, standards, and interface definitions.

Requirements

• Extensive experience in engineering program management, technical program management, mission-critical infrastructure delivery, data center deployment, or comparable complex execution environments (typically 10+ years of relevant work or equivalent depth of experience).
• Proven ability to operate within ambiguous, cross-functional engineering programs with shifting requirements, urgent timelines, and high operational risk, driving from concept through design, validation, procurement, construction, commissioning, deployment, and operations.
• Proven experience coordinating cross-functional programs that include network, controls, mechanical, electrical, structural, construction, commissioning, or operations participants.
• Strong technical fluency in several of: data hall deployment, non-production network, production network interfaces, controls coordination, telemetry, rack deployment, mission-critical support spaces, and infrastructure handoff.
• Experience building and maintaining integrated schedules, dependency maps, risk registers, decision logs, readiness trackers, and partner action plans.
• Experience coordinating external partners, vendors, design firms, delivery teams, or operators in a multi-party infrastructure environment.
• Ability to understand complex technical tradeoffs, ask strong questions, identify hidden dependencies, and help teams move toward clear decisions without needing to be the sole technical owner.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce crisp status reporting and drive action across matrixed teams.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Construction Management, Operations, Business, or a related technical or quantitative field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Skills

• Direct experience with hyperscale data centers, AI infrastructure, HPC environments, colocation, or partner-delivered data center programs.
• Experience supporting high-density data hall or HAC-related design and deployment efforts.
• Experience with non-production network and support-service readiness for large-scale infrastructure deployments.
• Experience coordinating controls integration, network-room layouts, telemetry interfaces, rack deployment packages, or early operational handoff.
• Comfort with technical documentation such as one-line diagrams, P&IDs, controls sequences, network diagrams, equipment specifications, interface control documents, telemetry schemas, test procedures, and commissioning scripts.
• Familiarity with 1P, 3P, colocation, and cloud service provider delivery models and differing owner-partner interface expectations.

Work Environment and Travel

• Periodic travel to data center campuses, manufacturing partners, equipment suppliers, laboratories, construction sites, commissioning activities, and partner program reviews may be required.
• Comfortable working across office, lab, manufacturing, construction, and operating data center environments, including environments that require PPE, safety briefings, change-control discipline, and coordination with site operations.
• Work may include time-sensitive escalations during design reviews, procurement, manufacturing validation, commissioning, startup, production deployment, vendor testing, operational readiness, or operational incidents.

Benefits and Compensation

• Base salary range: $257K – $327K (base pay may vary depending on market location, knowledge, skills, and experience). Total compensation may include equity and performance-related bonuses for eligible employees.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts; pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses; 401(k) with employer match.
• Paid parental leave, paid medical and caregiver leave, flexible PTO, paid company holidays, mental health support, employer-paid basic life and disability coverage, annual learning stipend, daily meals in offices and meal credits as eligible.
• Relocation support for eligible employees.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. The company emphasizes safety, diversity of perspectives, and inclusion, and is an equal opportunity employer. Background checks will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and reasonable accommodations are provided for applicants with disabilities.