About the Team:
OpenAI, in close collaboration with our capital partners, is embarking on a journey to build the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem. The InfraDev team is central to this mission, setting the core infra strategy and implementing this vision. From site selection to the buildout process, this team sits at the intersection of commercial, technical, strategy, and operations, interacting with teams and executives inside and outside of OpenAI.
About the Role:
Are you the type of person who is excited by massive global challenges spanning thousands of stakeholders? Does driving massive commercial deals across the globe sound interesting to you? OpenAI is seeking an experienced and ambitious sourcing professional to lead our data center sourcing efforts within the InfraDev team.
This role will focus on equipment and vendor sourcing, touching on both commercial and material requirements necessary to build the world’s most advanced supercomputer. With scope covering not only electrical, mechanical, and connectivity equipment, but also critical contractor and engineering relationships, this role offers an unparalleled breadth, perfect for a candidate looking to have maximum impact across an immense capital project.
By establishing relationships, building commercial terms, and driving supplier performance across the data center industrial base, this role will sit at a critical point in OpenAI’s infrastructure, and organizational, strategy. Infrastructure is destiny, and you get to sit in the driver’s seat!
In this role you will:
Develop and lead OpenAIs supercomputer sourcing strategy including equipment (ex. Electrical, mechanical) and vendors (ex. General contractors, Engineering)
Ensure OpenAI establishes itself as a successful partner with suppliers across the data center industrial base
Build competitive commercial relationships, driving both material readiness and cost competitiveness across our infrastructure roadmap
Help to build and strengthen the sourcing capabilities at OpenAI
Lead major external executive relationships with senior executives at key suppliers
Identify and de-risk major challenges to OpenAI’s infrastructure deployment
You might thrive in this role if:
10+ years of experience leading sourcing for data centers or major capital equipment
Deep understanding of data center equipment technical standards and operations, including electrical (e.g., switchgear, transformers), mechanical (e.g., cooling, heat management), and connectivity solutions
Experience managing vendor relationships, including general contractors, technical specialists, and global suppliers, with a focus on commercial terms and international logistics
Proven ability to negotiate and shape multi-equipment deals and commercial terms for capital projects
Strong cross-functional leadership experience, including managing internal and external executive stakeholders to drive major project decisions
Expertise in balancing technical and financial trade-offs in high-cost environments, including structuring payment milestones
Experience with supply chain, manufacturing, and material readiness for large-scale projects
Passion for leading world-class capital projects and driving innovation in data center operations
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.
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For US Based Candidates: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
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At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.