Infrastructure Operations & Sustainability Lead at OpenAI in US - Remote

Job description

• Application
• About the Team
• We are seeking an Infrastructure Operations & Sustainability Lead to develop and execute the sustainability strategy for OpenAI’s global infrastructure portfolio.
• This role will translate environmental priorities and external commitments into practical operating requirements across site selection, data center design, construction, equipment procurement, deployment, and ongoing operations. You will build the frameworks, metrics, governance, and cross-functional programs required to improve environmental performance while preserving the speed, reliability, and scalability demanded by OpenAI’s infrastructure roadmap.
• The role will partner closely with infrastructure operations, site development, engineering, construction, power, hardware, supply chain, finance, legal, public policy, government affairs, communications, and external infrastructure partners.
• This is a senior leadership role requiring infrastructure fluency, sustainability expertise, executive judgment, and the ability to drive complex initiatives across organizational boundaries.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive sustainability strategy for OpenAI’s global compute infrastructure.
• Translate sustainability objectives into actionable requirements for site selection, design, construction, procurement, commissioning, and operations.
• Establish decision frameworks that balance environmental impact with infrastructure reliability, deployment speed, cost, and scalability.
• Develop strategies addressing operational and embodied carbon, water stewardship, materials, construction impacts, waste, circularity, and equipment lifecycle management.
• Partner with data center engineering and operations teams to identify practical improvements in infrastructure efficiency, resource use, resilience, and operational performance.
• Incorporate sustainability considerations into self-build, colocation, cloud, and strategic infrastructure-partner decisions.
• Establish measurable goals, operating metrics, dashboards, and governance mechanisms for infrastructure sustainability programs.
• Improve the quality, consistency, and auditability of environmental and operational data across internal teams and external partners.
• Work with hardware, manufacturing, and supply chain teams to develop supplier requirements and lifecycle strategies for infrastructure equipment.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, design approaches, and operating practices and determine which should move from pilot programs into scaled deployment.
• Develop business cases that clearly communicate environmental impact, implementation requirements, cost, schedule, and operational tradeoffs.
• Partner with Public Policy and Government Affairs on infrastructure-related sustainability positions, regulatory developments, and external engagement.
• Represent OpenAI in conversations with infrastructure partners, industry organizations, policymakers, community stakeholders, and other external parties.
• Provide executive leadership with clear assessments of progress, material risks, strategic choices, and recommended actions.
• Build repeatable playbooks that allow sustainability practices to scale across sites, geographies, infrastructure partners, and technology generations.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in sustainability, infrastructure operations, environmental strategy, data center infrastructure, the built environment, or a related field.
• Experience leading sustainability or operational-improvement programs across a large, complex, and geographically distributed organization.
• Demonstrated ability to translate high-level environmental objectives into practical engineering, procurement, construction, and operational requirements.
• Strong understanding of carbon, water, materials, waste, circularity, and lifecycle considerations within physical infrastructure.
• Experience building metrics, governance systems, and executive reporting for complex operational programs.
• Ability to evaluate technical, financial, environmental, regulatory, and reputational tradeoffs together.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and the ability to influence senior stakeholders without relying on direct authority.
• Experience working with external partners, suppliers, regulators, policymakers, or industry organizations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to make complex subjects clear and decision-ready for executives.
• Comfort operating in a fast-moving environment with incomplete information, changing priorities, and significant external scrutiny.
• Experience with hyperscale data centers, cloud infrastructure, industrial facilities, or another power- and resource-intensive operating environment.
• Familiarity with data center design, construction, facilities operations, hardware supply chains, and infrastructure-development lifecycles.
• Experience with embodied-carbon reduction, sustainable construction materials, water-positive programs, equipment circularity, or infrastructure-efficiency initiatives.
• Knowledge of greenhouse-gas accounting, environmental disclosure frameworks, lifecycle assessment, and sustainability-related data systems.
• Experience developing external partnerships or industry initiatives that produced measurable operational outcomes.
• Familiarity with energy procurement and utility policy sufficient to partner effectively with dedicated power and energy teams.
• Experience building or leading multidisciplinary sustainability and infrastructure programs through periods of rapid organizational growth.

Skills

Required

• Sustainability strategy development
• Infrastructure operations
• Environmental strategy
• Data center infrastructure
• Built environment
• Program leadership
• Cross-functional leadership
• Stakeholder influence
• Metrics and governance systems
• Executive reporting
• External partner and supplier engagement
• Comfort in fast-moving environments

Preferred

• Hyperscale data centers
• Cloud infrastructure
• Industrial facilities
• Data center design and construction
• Facilities operations
• Hardware supply chains
• Embodied-carbon reduction
• Sustainable construction materials

Benefits

• The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. If the role is non-exempt, overtime pay will be provided consistent with applicable laws. In addition to the salary range listed above, total compensation also includes generous equity, performance-related bonus(es) for eligible employees, and the following benefits.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
• 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
• Mental health and wellness support
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
• Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
• Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.
• More details about our benefits are available to candidates during the hiring process.
• This role is at-will and OpenAI reserves the right to modify base pay and other compensation components at any time based on individual performance, team or company results, or market conditions.