Data Center Electrical R&D Engineer

OpenAI, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI in San Francisco seeks an experienced Data Center Electrical R&D Engineer to develop and validate next-generation power architectures for high-density AI infrastructure. This role emphasizes research, design, modeling, prototyping, and technical validation, not routine facility operations.

You will collaborate with compute hardware, mechanical, controls, and external partners to translate workload needs into robust electrical systems, spanning utility interconnection, rack-level power,

Qualifications

• 10+ years of electrical engineering experience in data-center or critical-infrastructure environments.
• Deep expertise in power distribution, medium- and low-voltage systems, substations, transformers, UPS, and generators.
• Experience designing high-availability electrical facilities.
• Strong understanding of power-system modeling, load flow, fault analysis, and reliability.
• Ability to translate evolving requirements into testable architectures.
• Proven track record leading prototypes, pilots, or validation programs.

Responsibilities

• Develop advanced electrical architectures for high-density AI data centers from utility interconnection to rack delivery.
• Translate compute requirements into electrical capacity and topology considerations.
• Create designs, diagrams, standards, and reusable reference architectures.
• Model performance and reliability under fault conditions and transients.
• Lead testing, validation, and deployments across labs, pilots, and sites.
• Collaborate with mechanical, controls, and external partners to optimize integrated systems.

Skills

Power distribution

Electrical design

Technical writing

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering

Job description

Data Center Electrical R&D Engineer | OpenAI

Careers

Data Center Electrical R&D Engineer

Scaling - San Francisco

About the Team

OpenAI, in close collaboration with our capital partners, is building the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem. The team defines the technical direction for next-generation data centers and develops the architectures needed to support rapidly evolving AI hardware and workload requirements.

Operating at the intersection of research, engineering, infrastructure, and deployment, the team translates emerging compute requirements into validated electrical designs, reference architectures, prototypes, and scalable infrastructure solutions.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Data Center Electrical R&D Engineer to develop and validate next-generation power architectures for high-density AI infrastructure.

This role is focused on research, advanced design, modeling, prototyping, and technical validation rather than ongoing facility operations. You will investigate emerging electrical technologies, develop system-level architectures, and evaluate new approaches to utility integration, power distribution, backup generation, energy storage, controls, and rack-level power delivery.

You will work closely with compute hardware, mechanical, controls, construction, commissioning, operations, and external technology partners. Your work will shape reusable reference designs that can move from concept and simulation through pilot testing and large-scale deployment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop advanced electrical architectures for high-density AI data centers, from utility interconnection through rack-level power delivery.

• Translate evolving compute-platform requirements into electrical capacity, topology, redundancy, power-quality, protection, and control requirements.

• Create conceptual designs, basis-of-design documents, specifications, one-line diagrams, design standards, and reusable reference architectures.

• Model electrical-system performance, capacity, efficiency, reliability, fault conditions, transient behavior, and failure scenarios.

• Evaluate emerging technologies such as medium-voltage distribution, solid-state power conversion, advanced UPS systems, energy storage, alternative generation, and direct-current architectures.

• Build technical and economic comparisons across competing design approaches, including reliability, efficiency, scalability, cost, constructability, maintainability, and deployment speed.

• Develop prototypes, test plans, acceptance criteria, and validation frameworks for new electrical technologies and system architectures.

• Lead laboratory, factory, pilot-site, and field testing to validate design assumptions and identify performance or integration gaps.

• Partner with mechanical and thermal engineers to optimize power and cooling architectures as an integrated system.

• Collaborate with AI hardware and compute teams to understand workload behavior, rack density, utilization, power variability, and future platform requirements.

• Work with controls and software teams to define instrumentation, telemetry, protection, monitoring, and automated-control requirements.

• Partner with construction, commissioning, and operations teams to ensure new designs can be safely built, tested, operated, and maintained.

• Engage equipment manufacturers, utilities, engineering consultants, and research partners to evaluate capabilities and accelerate technology development.

• Investigate system failures and unexpected test results, identify root causes, and translate findings into design improvements.

• Document validated designs, technical decisions, operating envelopes, lessons learned, and deployment guidance.

• Provide technical direction and design-review leadership across internal teams and external engineering partners.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in electrical engineering, power-system design, data-center infrastructure, industrial power, or another critical-infrastructure environment.

• Deep expertise in electrical power distribution, including medium- and low-voltage systems, substations, transformers, switchgear, protection, UPS systems, generators, and rack-level power delivery.

• Demonstrated experience developing electrical designs for large, complex, or high-availability facilities.

• Strong understanding of power-system modeling, short-circuit analysis, load flow, coordination studies, arc-flash analysis, power quality, grounding, and reliability.

• Experience translating uncertain or evolving technical requirements into testable engineering concepts and system architectures.

• Experience designing experiments, prototypes, pilots, or validation programs for new equipment or infrastructure technologies.

• Ability to reason across electrical, mechanical, controls, compute hardware, construction, commissioning, and operational boundaries.

• Experience evaluating engineering tradeoffs using quantitative analysis, simulation, testing, and field data.

• Strong technical writing and communication skills, including the ability to explain complex engineering decisions to technical and executive audiences.

• Experience directing engineering consultants, equipment manufacturers, and external technology partners.

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a related engineering discipline.

Preferred Skills

• Master’s degree or PhD in electrical engineering, power systems, power electronics, energy systems, or a related field.

• Professional Engineer license or equivalent professional certification.

• Experience supporting high-density data centers, AI infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, advanced industrial facilities