Civil Engineer

About the Team

OpenAI's Industrial Compute organization is building the world's most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem. Through a combination of strategic partnerships and self-built campuses, we are delivering hyperscale AI infrastructure capable of supporting frontier model training and inference at unprecedented scale.

Our Design & Engineering team develops the technical standards that enable Industrial Compute to build faster, smarter, and more efficiently than traditional data center programs. We partner closely with Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, Structural, Construction, Infrastructure Delivery, Capacity Planning, and external engineering firms to continuously improve how AI campuses are designed and delivered.

As our self-build portfolio continues to expand, Civil Engineering is responsible for developing scalable site designs that improve constructability, reduce deployment timelines, and establish repeatable standards for future AI campuses.

About the Role

We are seeking a Civil Engineer to lead civil engineering strategy across Industrial Compute's self-build data center portfolio. This role will own the technical direction for site development and structural engineering while partnering closely with external engineering consultants, construction partners, and internal infrastructure teams to continuously improve how our campuses are designed and built.

Rather than simply reviewing consultant deliverables, you will drive engineering optimization across site grading, foundations, structural systems, utility coordination, and constructability. You will challenge traditional design assumptions, identify opportunities to reduce schedule and cost, and help establish standardized, modular engineering approaches that accelerate future deployments.

Working closely with Mechanical, Electrical, Power, Cooling, and Infrastructure Delivery teams, you will ensure civil infrastructure supports the demanding requirements of next-generation AI compute while enabling Industrial Compute to scale globally.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead civil engineering strategy across Industrial Compute's self-build infrastructure portfolio.

• Partner with engineering consultants and EPC firms to develop civil and structural designs for hyperscale AI campuses.

• Drive continuous improvement of site design standards to reduce construction schedule, cost, and execution risk.

• Optimize grading, earthwork, drainage, foundations, utility routing, and constructability across multiple campuses.

• Develop structural standards supporting high floor loading, vibration control, durability, and long-term serviceability for AI infrastructure.

• Establish modular and prefabricated civil engineering approaches that improve repeatability and deployment speed.

• Coordinate closely with Mechanical, Electrical, Power Generation, Cooling, and Infrastructure Delivery teams throughout design and construction.

• Review engineering calculations, drawings, specifications, and consultant deliverables for technical quality and consistency.

• Support geotechnical investigations, constructability reviews, value engineering, and design optimization initiatives.

• Evaluate emerging construction methodologies and engineering technologies that improve speed, scalability, and reliability.

• Support engineering throughout construction, commissioning, and operational handoff.

• Help establish global civil engineering standards for future Industrial Compute campuses.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.

• 8+ years of experience designing large-scale industrial, mission-critical, manufacturing, energy, or data center facilities.

• Strong understanding of site development, grading, drainage, foundations, structural systems, utility coordination, and constructability.

• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering teams through design and construction.

• Experience reviewing engineering calculations, drawings, and consultant deliverables.

• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Skills

• Professional Engineer (PE) license.

• Experience designing hyperscale data centers or mission-critical infrastructure.

• Experience with modular construction or prefabricated infrastructure systems.

• Familiarity with geotechnical engineering and heavy equ

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 we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

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