Clean Energy and New Technology Lead

OpenAI, in close collaboration with our capital partners, is embarking on a journey to build the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem. The Industrial Compute 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

The Clean Energy and New Technology Lead will own infrastructure clean energy and emerging energy technology strategy and execution, identifying and deploying scalable solutions that enable resilient, low-carbon compute and data center growth. The role will work closely with regulatory and policy teams to align infrastructure expansion with OpenAI’s long-term environmental and operational objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate emerging energy solutions such as clean firm power, advanced storage, grid flexibility, low-carbon backup power, heat reuse, water-related energy efficiency, and other scalable technologies where relevant.
• Identify pilot opportunities and deployment pathways that can move promising energy technologies from concept to commercially and operationally credible execution.
• Translate technical options into clear reliability, cost, schedule, carbon, regulatory, and operational implications for infrastructure decision-making.
• Partner with energy regulatory, policy, procurement, engineering, deployment, finance, legal, and site-readiness teams to align technology and sustainability choices with project needs.
• Coordinate with OpenAI’s central sustainability function as it develops to ensure infrastructure-specific goals, metrics, reporting, and commitments remain consistent.
• Track external market, policy, utility, and technology developments that could affect OpenAI’s ability to scale resilient, low-carbon infrastructure.
• Build repeatable evaluation frameworks, partner criteria, and execution playbooks for sustainability and emerging energy technology initiatives.

Qualifications

15+ years in energy technology, infrastructure sustainability, clean energy procurement, power markets, data center energy strategy, utility programs, or related roles. Strong understanding of power systems, low-carbon energy, grid constraints, infrastructure reliability, and the practical requirements of large-scale deployment.

Experience evaluating emerging technologies, structuring pilots, or moving early-stage solutions toward commercial implementation. Ability to balance sustainability objectives with reliability, cost, schedule, regulatory, and operational constraints. Proven cross-functional leadership across technical, commercial, policy, and executive stakeholders. Excellent analytical, written communication, and executive-summary skills.