Technical Program Manager, Core Network & WAN Infrastructure

OpenAI, Inc.

Job Overview

Location

San Francisco

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• Own end-to-end execution of OpenAI’s WAN infrastructure deployments across PoPs, long-haul fiber routes, cloud interconnects, colocation environments, and provider handoffs.
• Drive physical and logical readiness for network buildouts including routers, line cards, optics, cabling, patch panels, cross-connects, BGP sessions, routing policies, and production turn-up.
• Maintain clear ownership of timelines, dependencies, risks, blockers, escalation paths, and readiness milestones for all active network deployments.
• Translate network capacity needs and deployment plans into actionable workstreams with assigned owners, defined dates, test expectations, and acceptance criteria.
• Partner directly with network engineers to validate link state, optics health, FEC/BER signals, light levels, interface configurations, routing readiness, and handoff completeness.
• Ensure vendors and datacenter teams receive comprehensive instructions including port maps, rack elevations, LOAs/CLOAs, network diagrams, install windows, test plans, access details, and acceptance criteria.
• Build and maintain durable operational mechanisms such as PoP readiness checklists, deployment trackers, vendor instruction templates, escalation playbooks, and standard operating procedures.
• Identify recurring bottlenecks in PoP deployment and network capacity delivery, then drive systemic fixes to make future builds faster, more predictable, and less reliant on tribal knowledge.
• Communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, providing crisp updates on status, impact, owner, next step, and required decisions for escalations.
• Work cross-functionally with network engineers, datacenter operators, cloud providers, fiber vendors, finance, procurement, and business teams to deliver infrastructure at scale.
• Ensure all network deployments meet safety, reliability, and operational standards, prioritizing responsible AI infrastructure over unfettered growth.
• Maintain precise documentation of network configurations, vendor agreements, deployment histories, and operational runbooks to support continuity and scalability.
• Proactively improve infrastructure delivery mechanisms by automating reporting, enhancing dashboards, and refining deployment tooling where feasible.
• Manage global infrastructure expansion efforts including network capacity planning, vendor negotiations, and commercial coordination across multiple regions and providers.
• Conduct detailed reviews of physical and logical network readiness, including dark fiber utilization, DWDM systems, cloud interconnects, peering arrangements, and high-capacity datacenter connectivity.
• Apply hands-on technical expertise to troubleshoot and resolve complex network readiness issues, including optical transport, BGP peering failures, and cross-connect misconfigurations.
• Uphold strict operational discipline through clean handoffs, structured status reporting, and consistent tracking of delivery milestones across distributed teams and vendors.
• Support the scaling of AI infrastructure by ensuring WAN and core network capacity enables seamless execution of production AI workloads and training pipelines.
• Maintain awareness of emerging network technologies and vendor capabilities to inform infrastructure decisions aligned with OpenAI’s unique scale and safety requirements.
• Collaborate with security and compliance teams to ensure all network deployments adhere to data security obligations and proprietary information protection standards.
• Lead post-deployment reviews to capture lessons learned and update operational documentation, checklists, and escalation pathways for continuous improvement.

🎯 Requirements

• Deep experience driving infrastructure, networking, datacenter, cloud connectivity, telecom, fiber, or technical operations programs
• Strong technical intuition across physical networking, WAN/backbone infrastructure, colocation environments, cloud interconnects, cross-connects, optics, cabling, routing, and operational readiness
• A track record of independently owning ambiguous, cross-functional infrastructure programs from planning through production handoff
• Experience working directly with network engineers, datacenter operations, colocation providers, carriers, cloud providers, vendors, finance, procurement, and business stakeholders
• Excellent written communication and operating discipline: clear trackers, clean handoffs, useful status updates, and escalation notes that drive decisions
• Experience with large-scale WAN, backbone, edge, cloud, or AI/ML infrastructure

🏖️ Benefits

• Hybrid work model with 3 days in the office per week in San Francisco
• Relocation assistance for new employees
• Opportunity to work on one of the largest cutting-edge GPU fleets in the world powering ChatGPT and AI research
• Commitment to safety and responsible AI deployment as a core organizational value

Skills & Technologies

Fiber

DevOps

Hybrid

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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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