Physical Network & Structured Cabling Engineer

Details

About the Team

OpenAI is building advanced AI infrastructure. The Data Center Engineering team defines infrastructure strategy, drives technical innovation, establishes performance benchmarks, and develops reference designs for rapid, scalable global deployment.

The role supports the design and delivery of next-generation data center infrastructure optimized for AI workloads. It involves collaboration across research, site selection, design, construction, commissioning, hardware engineering, deployment, operations, and global partners.

Role Summary

Own the design, implementation, and quality assurance of structured cabling and physical network infrastructure across OpenAI's global data center footprint. The role bridges design, construction, and operations to ensure that physical networking infrastructure, from fiber trunks to copper patching, meets performance, reliability, and scalability requirements.

Responsibilities

• Design and specify physical network infrastructure across data center buildings and campuses, including fiber and copper cabling, network rooms, rack layouts, cable trays, and duct bank pathways.
• Coordinate with other engineering disciplines to incorporate network infrastructure space, power, cooling, and operational requirements into overall designs.
• Develop standards, reference designs, and installation guidelines for structured cabling and physical network deployments.
• Translate logical network architectures and hardware connectivity requirements into scalable physical designs, including fiber topology, port connectivity, patching, redundancy, and capacity planning.
• Partner with network engineering and operations teams on physical network design.
• Provide technical direction to design consultants, cabling vendors, and installation contractors.
• Resolve scope gaps and ensure designs are constructible and meet network requirements.
• Define installation quality and acceptance criteria.
• Oversee inspection, testing, commissioning, and turnover of structured cabling systems.
• Lead physical network design reviews and coordinate clash detection and resolution with other disciplines.
• Conduct site inspections to verify installation quality and compliance with design and operational requirements.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues during build, commissioning, and handover phases.
• Develop and maintain physical network documentation, including design requirements, drawings, port maps, cable schedules, bills of materials, labeling standards, and as-built records.
• Provide feedback to design and operations teams to drive continuous improvement of physical network standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience designing and delivering physical network infrastructure and structured cabling systems for large-scale data centers, including responsibility for design decisions, construction coordination, and operational readiness.
• Strong understanding of data center network topologies and high-speed optical connectivity, including transceivers, fiber types, breakout configurations, connector and polarity schemes, and optical loss budgets.
• Expertise in industry standards such as ANSI/TIA, BICSI, and other relevant structured cabling guidelines.
• Proven ability to coordinate with cross-functional teams and external vendors on large-scale projects.
• Strong skills in reviewing and interpreting technical drawings, cable schedules, and documentation management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel frequently to global data center sites.

Preferred Skills

• Master's degree in Engineering.
• BICSI, RCDD, or equivalent certification.
• Experience with hyperscale cloud, AI, or high-performance computing environments.
• Proficiency in 2D and 3D engineering tools such as CAD and Revit for infrastructure design and clash detection analysis.
• Experience with structured connectivity data and automation for generating and validating port maps, cable schedules, bills of materials, and labels.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills for physical-layer systems and issues.

Benefits

• Equity, performance-related bonuses for eligible employees, and benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Health Savings Accounts, flexible spending accounts, commuter benefits, and a 401(k) plan with employer match.
• Paid parental, medical, caregiver, sick, and safe leave.
• Paid time off, paid company holidays, and coordinated company office closures.
• Mental health and wellness support.
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage.
• Annual learning and development stipend.
• Daily office meals and eligible meal delivery credits.
• Relocation support for eligible employees.
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, including charitable donation matching and wellness stipends.

OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Background checks are administered in accordance with applicable law.