Data Center Shell Planning Lead, Industrial Compute

Job description

About the Team OpenAI, in close collaboration with our capital partners, is building the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem. The Site Readiness & Development team is responsible for translating OpenAI’s long-term infrastructure needs into executable data center capacity across self-build campuses, leased facilities, and strategic development partnerships. The team works across capacity planning, power, land, real estate, design, construction, finance, and commercial execution to ensure the right infrastructure is available in the right locations and on the timelines required to support OpenAI’s growth. About the Role We are seeking a Data Center Shell Planning Lead to own portfolio-level planning for future data center shell capacity. This role will translate compute-demand forecasts, power availability, technical requirements, and development schedules into a clear strategy for where, when, and how much shell capacity OpenAI should secure or build. You will evaluate capacity across self-build, lease, colocation, and development-partner pathways; identify future supply gaps; recommend campus and building phasing; and maintain the integrated plan connecting site readiness to construction, commissioning, and operational handoff. This is an individual contributor lead role requiring strong analytical judgment, infrastructure-development fluency, and the ability to drive decisions across teams without relying on formal authority. Key Responsibilities Develop and maintain a multi-year portfolio plan for data center shell capacity across priority geographies. Translate compute forecasts, IT-load requirements, rack-density assumptions, power schedules, cooling requirements, and deployment timelines into site and building requirements. Determine when shell capacity must be secured, designed, constructed, commissioned, and ready for technical fit-out. Integrate land, utility, interconnection, permitting, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and network-readiness schedules into a single capacity view. Identify capacity gaps, schedule conflicts, stranded-capacity risks, and dependencies that could prevent infrastructure from becoming operational on time. Develop scenario models comparing self-build, lease, colocation, and strategic development-partner options. Evaluate delivery pathways based on schedule, cost, control, flexibility, reliabi…