Infrastructure Operations & Sustainability Lead

Details

OpenAI’s Industrial Compute organization is building and operating the infrastructure required to support frontier AI at unprecedented scale, spanning data center development, power, design and construction, hardware, supply chain, deployment, facilities operations, and external partnerships.

This role will develop and execute the sustainability strategy for OpenAI’s global infrastructure portfolio. It will translate environmental priorities and external commitments into practical operating requirements across site selection, data center design, construction, equipment procurement, deployment, and ongoing operations. The role will establish the frameworks, metrics, governance, and cross-functional programs needed to improve environmental performance while preserving infrastructure speed, reliability, and scalability.

The position partners with infrastructure operations, site development, engineering, construction, power, hardware, supply chain, finance, legal, public policy, government affairs, communications, and external infrastructure partners. It is a senior leadership role requiring infrastructure fluency, sustainability expertise, executive judgment, and the ability to drive complex initiatives across organizational boundaries.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive sustainability strategy for OpenAI’s global compute infrastructure.
• Translate sustainability objectives into actionable requirements for site selection, design, construction, procurement, commissioning, and operations.
• Establish decision frameworks that balance environmental impact with infrastructure reliability, deployment speed, cost, and scalability.
• Develop strategies addressing operational and embodied carbon, water stewardship, materials, construction impacts, waste, circularity, and equipment lifecycle management.
• Partner with data center engineering and operations teams to identify practical improvements in infrastructure efficiency, resource use, resilience, and operational performance.
• Incorporate sustainability considerations into self-build, colocation, cloud, and strategic infrastructure-partner decisions.
• Establish measurable goals, operating metrics, dashboards, and governance mechanisms for infrastructure sustainability programs.
• Improve the quality, consistency, and auditability of environmental and operational data across internal teams and external partners.
• Work with hardware, manufacturing, and supply chain teams to develop supplier requirements and lifecycle strategies for infrastructure equipment.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, design approaches, and operating practices and determine which should move from pilot programs into scaled deployment.
• Develop business cases communicating environmental impact, implementation requirements, cost, schedule, and operational tradeoffs.
• Partner with Public Policy and Government Affairs on infrastructure-related sustainability positions, regulatory developments, and external engagement.
• Represent OpenAI in discussions with infrastructure partners, industry organizations, policymakers, community stakeholders, and other external parties.
• Provide executive leadership with clear assessments of progress, material risks, strategic choices, and recommended actions.
• Build repeatable playbooks that allow sustainability practices to scale across sites, geographies, infrastructure partners, and technology generations.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in sustainability, infrastructure operations, environmental strategy, data center infrastructure, the built environment, or a related field.
• Experience leading sustainability or operational-improvement programs across a large, complex, and geographically distributed organization.
• Demonstrated ability to translate high-level environmental objectives into practical engineering, procurement, construction, and operational requirements.
• Strong understanding of carbon, water, materials, waste, circularity, and lifecycle considerations within physical infrastructure.
• Experience building metrics, governance systems, and executive reporting for complex operational programs.
• Ability to evaluate technical, financial, environmental, regulatory, and reputational tradeoffs together.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and ability to influence senior stakeholders without relying on direct authority.
• Experience working with external partners, suppliers, regulators, policymakers, or industry organizations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to make complex subjects clear and decision-ready for executives.
• Comfort operating in a fast-moving environment with incomplete information, changing priorities, and significant external scrutiny.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with hyperscale data centers, cloud infrastructure, industrial facilities, or another power- and resource-intensive operating environment.
• Familiarity with data center design, construction, facilities operations, hardware supply chains, and infrastructure-development lifecycles.
• Experience with embodied-carbon reduction, sustainable construction materials, water-positive programs, equipment circularity, or infrastructure-efficiency initiatives.
• Knowledge of greenhouse-gas accounting, environmental disclosure frameworks, lifecycle assessment, and sustainability-related data systems.
• Experience developing external partnerships or industry initiatives that produced measurable operational outcomes.
• Familiarity with energy procurement and utility policy sufficient to partner effectively with dedicated power and energy teams.
• Experience building or leading multidisciplinary sustainability and infrastructure programs through periods of rapid organizational growth.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary: $223,000–$385,000 per year.
• 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, dependent care, and commuter expenses.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match.
• Paid parental, medical, and caregiver leave.
• Paid time off, company holidays, paid office closures, and 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 eligible meal delivery credits.
• Relocation support for eligible employees.