AI Data Center Facilities Ops Lead

OpenAI; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI in Seattle is seeking a Facilities Operations Manager to lead day-to-day operations of mission-critical facility infrastructure across AI compute campuses. You will oversee electrical, mechanical, and controls systems and partner with commissioning teams, site operators, vendors, and engineering organizations.

The role focuses on operational readiness for new campus deployments, incident response, and continuous improvement of procedures, maintenance programs, and reliability initiatives,

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience operating mission-critical facilities, data centers, industrial infrastructure, or large-scale technical operations environments.
• Possess strong knowledge of electrical distribution systems, generators, UPS systems, cooling systems, and building controls.
• Have experience supporting commissioning, operational readiness, or infrastructure turnover programs.
• Have led facility operations teams, contractors, and third-party vendors.
• Are comfortable responding to incidents and making decisions in high-pressure operational environments.
• Have experience developing maintenance strategies, operating procedures, and reliability programs.
• Enjoy operating in fast-paced environments with significant ambiguity and rapid growth.
• Communicate effectively across technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations of mission-critical facility infrastructure across AI compute campuses.
• Own operational readiness activities supporting new campus deployments and infrastructure expansion.
• Partner with commissioning teams to transition facilities from construction and startup into steady-state operations.
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve operating procedures, maintenance programs, and response plans.
• Lead infrastructure incident response efforts and coordinate recovery activities during critical events.
• Drive root cause analysis investigations and corrective action programs to improve reliability and operational performance.
• Manage vendors, contractors, and service providers supporting facility operations.
• Partner with hardware deployment, networking, and engineering teams to coordinate infrastructure changes and maintenance activities.
• Monitor facility performance, operational risk, and capacity utilization across critical systems.
• Support staffing, training, and development of facilities operations personnel.
• Ensure compliance with safety, environmental, and operational standards.
• Establish operational processes that scale alongside OpenAI's rapidly growing infrastructure footprint. (OpenAI)

Skills

Facilities operations

Data centers

Electrical distribution

Generators

UPS systems

Cooling systems

Building controls

Incident response

Vendor management

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

OpenAI in Seattle is seeking a Facilities Operations Manager to lead day-to-day operations of mission-critical facility infrastructure across AI compute campuses. You will oversee electrical, mechanical, and controls systems and partner with commissioning teams, site operators, vendors, and engineering organizations.

The role focuses on operational readiness for new campus deployments, incident response, and continuous improvement of procedures, maintenance programs, and reliability initiatives,