AI Data Center Facilities Operations Lead

OpenAI; California (MO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking a Facilities Operations Manager to oversee commissioning, operational readiness, and long-term operation of AI data center campuses. You will manage day-to-day facility infrastructure across electrical, mechanical, and controls systems, coordinating with commissioning teams, vendors, and engineering groups to ensure reliability at scale.

The role emphasizes leadership, incident response, and development of maintenance and SOPs to support rapid growth while maintaining safety

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience operating mission-critical facilities, data centers, or large-scale technical operations.
• Strong knowledge of electrical distribution systems, generators, UPS, cooling, and building controls.
• Experience supporting commissioning, operational readiness, or infrastructure turnover programs.
• Experience leading facilities operations teams, contractors, and third‑party vendors.
• Comfortable responding to incidents and making decisions in high-pressure environments.
• Experience developing maintenance strategies and reliability programs.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations of mission-critical facility infrastructure across AI compute campuses.
• Own operational readiness activities supporting new campus deployments and expansions.
• Coordinate transitions from construction/startup to steady-state operations with commissioning teams.
• Develop, implement, and improve operating procedures, maintenance programs, and response plans.
• Lead incident response efforts and coordinate recovery during critical events.
• Drive root cause analyses and corrective actions to improve reliability and performance.
• Manage vendors, contractors, and service providers for facility operations.
• Collaborate with hardware deployment, networking, and engineering teams for infra changes.

Skills

Operational leadership

Incident response

Cross-functional collaboration

Decision making under pressure

Safety compliance

Job description

OpenAI is seeking a Facilities Operations Manager to oversee commissioning, operational readiness, and long-term operation of AI data center campuses. You will manage day-to-day facility infrastructure across electrical, mechanical, and controls systems, coordinating with commissioning teams, vendors, and engineering groups to ensure reliability at scale.

The role emphasizes leadership, incident response, and development of maintenance and SOPs to support rapid growth while maintaining safety