Physical Network & Structured Cabling Engineer

We Love AI Jobs; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 257,000 - 327,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking a senior Physical Network & Structured Cabling Engineer in San Francisco (Hybrid). You will own the design, implementation, and QA of structured cabling and network infrastructure across global data centers supporting AI workloads.

The role requires 10+ years of data center experience, strong fiber/copper expertise, and familiarity with ANSI/TIA and BICSI standards. Occasional travel and close collaboration with multiple teams are expected.

Qualifications

• 10+ years designing and delivering physical network infrastructure for large-scale data centers.
• Strong understanding of data center topologies and high-speed optical connectivity.
• Expertise in ANSI/TIA and BICSI standards.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to coordinate with multiple teams.

Responsibilities

• Design physical network infrastructure across data center buildings and campuses.
• Define installation standards, acceptance criteria, testing, and handover.
• Coordinate vendors, inspect sites, and resolve physical network issues.
• Lead design reviews and ensure documentation is up to date.

Skills

Structured cabling

Data center network design

Fiber optics

Copper cabling

Network topologies

ANSI/TIA

BICSI

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, or related field

Job description

# Physical Network & Structured Cabling EngineerOpenAISan Francisco (Hybrid)Full-time$257,000 – $327,000 / yearUpload your resume once and Scout applies for youApply with ScoutShare this job:LinkedInXSave imageDesigns and oversees structured cabling and physical network infrastructure across data centers and campuses. The engineer coordinates with design, construction, hardware, and operations teams to ensure installations meet performance, reliability, and readiness requirements for AI workloads.* Permanent* Hybrid* 10+ years* Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience### Skills and expertiseStructured cablingData center network designFiber opticsCopper cablingNetwork topologiesANSI/TIABICSICAD### Key responsibilities* Design physical network infrastructure, including cabling, network rooms, rack layouts, and pathways.* Set installation standards and acceptance criteria, and oversee testing, commissioning, and handover.* Coordinate vendors and engineering teams, inspect sites, and resolve physical network issues.## How this job comparesCompared with 522 open senior infrastructure jobs on October 10, 2026.Pay: This job pays $257K to $327K a year. The 183 open senior infrastructure jobs that publish US pay start at $170K on average, so this job starts about 51% higher.Similar open jobs: We Love AI Jobs lists 522 open senior infrastructure jobs at 190 companies.Remote work: This job is hybrid. 111 of the 522 senior infrastructure jobs (21%) are remote.AI in this role: Low. The company works with AI, but AI is a small part of this role's daily work. The role supports data center infrastructure optimized for AI workloads, but its day-to-day work centers on physical network design, cabling, and installation quality. No AI tools or model work is specified.## Full descriptionAbout the TeamOpenAI is on a bold mission to build the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure. We are seeking a Data Center Network and Structured Cabling Engineer with 10+ years of experience in designing and implementing optimized network and structured cabling solutions at large data centers buildings and data center campuses.The Data Center Engineering team is central to this mission defining infrastructure strategy, driving technical innovation, working with research to set performance benchmarks, and developing reference designs that enable rapid, scalable global deployment.As part of this team, you will help design and deliver next-generation data center infrastructure optimized for AI workloads. You’ll collaborate across research, site selection, design, construction, commissioning, hardware engineering, deployment, operations, and global partners to bring OpenAI’s infrastructure vision to life.Role SummaryAs a Physical Network & Structured Cabling Engineer, you will own the design, implementation, and quality assurance of structured cabling and physical network infrastructure across OpenAI’s global data center footprint. This role bridges design, construction, and operations, ensuring that every layer of our physical networking from fiber trunks to copper patching meets the highest standards of performance, reliability, and scalability.Key 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 ensure network infrastructure space, power, cooling, and operational requirements are incorporated into the overall design• 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, in partnership with network engineering and operations teams.• Provide technical direction to design consultants, cabling vendors, and installation contractors, resolving scope gaps and ensuring designs are constructible and meet network requirements.• Define installation quality and acceptance criteria, and oversee inspection, testing, commissioning, and turnover of structured cabling systems.• Lead physical network design reviews, coordinate clash detection and resolution with other disciplines, and conduct site inspections to verify installation quality and conformance with design and operational requirements.• Troubleshoot and resolve issues during build, commissioning, and handover phases to ensure network readiness.• 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.Qualifications• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, or 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 both technical and non-technical stakeholders.• Willingness to travel frequently to global data center sites.