AI Data Center Operations Lead

OpenAI; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI seeks a Facilities Operations Manager to lead the commissioning, readiness, and ongoing operation of next-generation AI data center campuses. You will oversee electrical, mechanical, controls, and supporting infra, coordinating with commissioning, site operators, vendors, and engineering teams to ensure reliable production operations.

You will drive operational readiness for new campuses, develop and implement procedures, and lead incident response and RCA programs to improve performance.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience operating mission-critical facilities or large-scale technical operations environments.
• Strong knowledge of electrical distribution, generators, UPS, cooling, and building controls.
• Experience supporting commissioning, operational readiness, or infra turnover programs.
• Led facility operations teams, contractors, and third-party vendors.
• Comfortable incident response and decision-making in high-pressure environments.
• Experience developing maintenance strategies and reliability programs.
• Enjoy fast-paced environments with growth and ambiguity.
• Effective communication 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 into steady-state operations.
• Develop, implement, and improve operating procedures, maintenance programs, and response plans.
• Lead infrastructure incident response and coordinate recovery during critical events.
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions to improve reliability and performance.
• Manage vendors, contractors, and service providers supporting facility operations.
• Coordinate infrastructure changes with hardware deployment, networking, and engineering teams.
• Monitor facility performance, risk, and capacity across critical systems.
• Support staffing, training, and development of facilities operations personnel.
• Ensure compliance with safety and environmental standards.
• Scale operational processes as OpenAI footprint grows.

Skills

Facilities operations

Electrical distribution

Commissioning support

Vendor management

Incident response

Maintenance programs

Cross-functional collaboration

Strong communication

Job description

OpenAI seeks a Facilities Operations Manager to lead the commissioning, readiness, and ongoing operation of next-generation AI data center campuses. You will oversee electrical, mechanical, controls, and supporting infra, coordinating with commissioning, site operators, vendors, and engineering teams to ensure reliable production operations.

You will drive operational readiness for new campuses, develop and implement procedures, and lead incident response and RCA programs to improve performance.