Datacenter NetDeploy Lead - Stargate

OpenAI, Inc.

Job Overview

Location

Remote - US

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• The Datacenter NetDeploy Lead at OpenAI is a critical role responsible for owning the end-to-end execution of physical network deployments in data center environments, ensuring that network infrastructure is installed, validated, and formally handed over in a production-ready state. This position bridges Network Engineering, Capacity Delivery/Construction, Data Center Engineering, and Operations to maintain strict alignment with documented standards, ticketing, cleanliness, and escalation protocols, directly enabling the scalability and reliability of OpenAI’s advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem.
• What the person will do day to day:
• Lead full lifecycle physical network deployments for new builds, expansions, and refreshes, translating network topologies, cabling designs, and BOMs into executable field plans and sequencing.
• Oversee and/or coordinate rack-and-stack of network equipment (switches, OOB, ancillary network systems), fiber trunk pulls, routing, termination to patch panels/equipment, and patch panel installation, patching, labeling, and cable management.
• Drive port-to-port verification, continuity testing, and validation sign-off, ensuring work follows documented standards and runbooks (tables, tickets, checklists, cleanliness, escalation).
• Develop systems, processes, and tools to enable deployment and maintenance of deployed systems, while sourcing, evaluating, and managing vendors across structured cabling, JIT fiber remediation, rack-and-stack/patching teams, and testing/verification support.
• Define scope, develop SOWs, validate pricing, manage execution to contract terms, track vendor performance against quality, throughput, safety, schedule, and documentation requirements, and drive corrective actions when vendors miss standards.
• Partner with Network Engineering to resolve field issues and deployment constraints (wrong switch delivered, substitutions, component failures, damaged gear; installation blockers and design/port mapping discrepancies; sequencing changes to maintain schedule).
• Partner with Data Center Engineering to align deployments to approved physical network infrastructure designs, verify fiber routing diversity and pathway separation, enforce installation standards for routing, labeling, and cable administration, and resolve field constraints that would force deviations from design intent.
• Partner with Capacity Delivery/Construction/Facilities to gain site access, coordinate logistics/staging, ensure pathways, trays, penetrations, and build readiness for trunk pulls, and align fiber completion to rack/machine placement milestones.
• Partner with Operations for handover: confirm install is complete/validated/documented, ensure as-builts, labeling, port maps, and test evidence are delivered, and execute formal ownership transfer so Ops can maintain/operate the network.
• Build and manage deployment schedules, sequencing plans, and milestone tracking; forecast labor needs, vendor ramp, and critical path dependencies; track cost drivers (labor, materials, change orders) and manage contract burn.
• Identify risks early and drive mitigation plans to protect turn-up dates; enforce adherence to deployment standards (labeling, patching, cleanliness, cable management), ticket-driven execution/closure, escalation protocols, change management, and documentation deliverables (as-builts, port maps, test results) to ensure installs are repeatable, auditable, and ready for operations at scale.
• About the team or company:
• OpenAI, in close collaboration with its capital partners, is building the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem, defining and executing core infrastructure strategy from site selection through full buildout at the intersection of commercial, technical, strategy, and operations.
• The team partners closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure the reliable, scalable, and secure deployment of infrastructure that supports OpenAI’s mission to safely deploy general-purpose artificial intelligence for the benefit of all humanity.
• What the person can learn or achieve in this role:
• Gain deep expertise in hyperscale data center network deployment at the forefront of AI infrastructure, working with cutting-edge technologies and standards in a mission-driven environment.
• Develop leadership and cross-functional coordination skills by driving end-to-end deployment execution while influencing vendor management, process improvement, and operational readiness across global data center sites.

🎯 Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in data center network deployment / infrastructure delivery.
• Strong understanding of data center network topologies (leaf/spine, core/aggregation, etc.) and network components, BOMs, racking constraints, and deployment sequencing.
• Demonstrated vendor management experience, including SOWs and execution oversight, with proven ability to coordinate across engineering, construction/capacity teams, and operations.
• Strong scheduling, risk management, and delivery accountability in the field, with ability to track cost drivers and manage contract burn.
• Familiarity with structured cabling standards (e.g., BICSI, TIA/EIA) and test methodologies, plus experience working in ticket-based operational environments (change control, incident escalation).
• Exposure to network deployment validation tooling and/or automated evidence capture, with hyperscale/multi-site/high-throughput deployment experience preferred.

🏖️ Benefits

• Opportunity to work on the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem at OpenAI, contributing directly to the scalable deployment of safe and beneficial artificial intelligence.
• Fully remote work arrangement within the United States, offering flexibility and autonomy while collaborating with a globally distributed, mission-driven team.
• Access to OpenAI’s comprehensive benefits package, including health, wellness, and financial support programs designed to support employees and their families.
• Professional growth through exposure to cutting-edge infrastructure technologies, vendor ecosystems, and cross-functional leadership in a high-impact, innovative environment.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with reasonable accommodations available for applicants with disabilities and adherence to fair chance hiring practices.

Skills & Technologies

Fiber

Senior

Remote

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OpenAI, Inc.

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About OpenAI, Inc.

OpenAI is a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research and deployment company founded in 2015. It develops large-scale AI models such as GPT, DALL-E, and Codex, providing cloud APIs and consumer applications like ChatGPT. Originally established as a non-profit, it later created a capped-profit subsidiary to attract capital while maintaining its mission to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

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