Data Center Security Engineer

Details

Security is foundational to OpenAI’s mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. The Security team protects OpenAI’s technology, people, and products and helps enable the infrastructure, research, and product work that powers frontier AI.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced and highly technical Data Center Security Engineer to help secure the infrastructure behind OpenAI’s rapidly expanding data center footprint. This role sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and advanced AI, with emphasis on IT, Enterprise, ICS and Operational Technology (OT) networking. You will operate with substantial agency and ownership alongside a small team of data center security experts to drive security architecture, control validation, and defensive improvements across diverse environments.

Preferred locations: OpenAI offices in San Francisco, Seattle, or New York City. Relocation assistance is available. Candidates who are remote will also be considered.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement security controls protecting data center infrastructure across a global footprint, focusing on OT and IT networking environments.
• Partner with data center security specialists, engineering, operations, and broader security teams to deliver resilient and practical security outcomes.
• Secure OT and IT networking environments through segmentation, access control, monitoring, hardening, and connectivity patterns suited to critical infrastructure.
• Contribute to security architecture and design reviews for data center systems, including network segmentation, identity and access management, provisioning workflows, hardware and firmware trust boundaries, and operational safeguards.
• Perform recurring audits, control assessments, and validation activities across OT and IT networking environments to ensure continued compliance against defined controls.
• Drive evidence collection, gap tracking, and remediation follow-through to close control deficiencies durably.
• Define measurable security standards, control objectives, audit procedures, evidence requirements, and validation mechanisms for infrastructure and facility security programs.
• Support security monitoring, incident response, and post-incident improvement efforts for data center, OT, and IT networking environments.
• Work with suppliers, partners, and internal stakeholders to evaluate and reduce risks associated with third-party hardware, firmware, software, and operational dependencies.
• Continually evolve data center security alongside changes in adversary activity and infrastructure complexity.

Requirements

• 15+ years of experience in security, including hands-on experience securing large-scale infrastructure, industrial environments, or data center systems.
• Deep expertise securing OT and IT networking environments in critical infrastructure settings, including segmentation strategies, remote access controls, asset visibility, and compensating controls for operational constraints.
• Experience building audit or assurance programs that validate ongoing compliance with defined security controls (not just point-in-time reviews).
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy.
• Strong knowledge of security engineering and operations across network security, IAM and PAM, hardening, provisioning, monitoring, incident response, and secure lifecycle practices.
• Experience protecting hyperscale, colocation, or hybrid infrastructure environments against sophisticated adversaries.
• Familiarity with control and governance frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, or SOC 2, and the ability to translate them into concrete technical and operational requirements.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills to explain risk, controls, and tradeoffs to technical and non-technical partners.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts.
• Pre-tax accounts (Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA) and commuter expense accounts.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match.
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks).
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees.
• 13+ paid company holidays and additional coordinated office closures, plus paid sick or safe time as required by law.
• Mental health and wellness support.
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage.
• Annual learning and development stipend.
• Daily meals in offices and meal delivery credits as eligible.
• Relocation support for eligible employees.
• Additional taxable fringe benefits (charitable donation matching, wellness stipends, etc.).

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, diverse perspectives, and equitable outcomes. Background checks will be administered in accordance with applicable law. OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.