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Data Center Infrastructure Architect

OpenAI· Scaling
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San Francisco$257k - $327k + equityFull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Senior, hands-on data center infrastructure architect for large-scale AI deployments, spanning electrical/mechanical systems, high-density compute, controls, telemetry, and digital modeling to optimize efficiency, reliability, and deployment speed.

Responsibilities

  • Define system-level architectures for high-density AI data centers across power, cooling, IT equipment, controls, and facility infrastructure.
  • Develop digital twins and other computational models that represent the behavior of data center systems under changing workloads, environmental conditions, equipment configurations, and failure scenarios.
  • Use design and operational data to identify constraints, improve PUE and related efficiency metrics, and optimize capacity, reliability, water consumption, cost, and deployment schedules.
  • Evaluate tradeoffs across electrical topology, cooling architecture, rack density, redundancy, controls, maintainability, constructability, and operational complexity.
  • Translate evolving AI hardware requirements into practical facility, rack, power, and thermal architectures.
  • Establish reference architectures, modeling standards, design assumptions, performance requirements, and validation methodologies that can be reused across customer deployments.
  • Partner with software, data, controls, hardware, mechanical, electrical, construction, commissioning, and operations teams to connect digital models with real infrastructure behavior.
  • Integrate telemetry from systems such as BMS, EPMS, DCIM, SCADA, equipment controllers, and IT hardware into modeling and optimization workflows.
  • Lead technical reviews of customer and partner designs, identify material risks, and recommend changes grounded in quantitative analysis.
  • Work with customers and delivery teams to adapt reference solutions to site-specific constraints while preserving performance, reliability, and efficiency objectives.
  • Support pilots, commissioning, performance testing, and post-deployment analysis to validate models and continuously improve infrastructure designs.
  • Help shape the technical roadmap for Industrial Compute’s physical-infrastructure products and engineering services.

Qualifications

  • Significant experience designing or optimizing hyperscale data centers, large mission-critical facilities, or comparable infrastructure systems.
  • Broad knowledge of data center electrical and mechanical systems, including power distribution, backup power, thermal management, liquid cooling, heat rejection, controls, and monitoring.
  • Experience making system-level design decisions across multiple engineering disciplines.
  • Experience developing or applying simulation, optimization, digital-twin, or physics-based modeling techniques to physical infrastructure.
  • Strong understanding of data center efficiency and performance metrics, including PUE, WUE, utilization, capacity, reliability, and total cost of ownership.
  • Experience working with operational telemetry and translating real-world system behavior into design improvements.
  • Ability to evaluate complex tradeoffs involving performance, reliability, cost, schedule, scalability, sustainability, and maintainability.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead technical work in ambiguous, rapidly changing environments.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex engineering decisions to customers, executives, and cross-functional teams.
  • Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, systems engineering, applied physics, or a related technical discipline.

Skills

Required:Data center architecture and systems designDigital twins and modelingSimulation/physics-based modelingTelemetry integration

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
  • 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.
Last updated Sep 24, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About OpenAI

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