Site Selection Lead

Job description

About the Team OpenAI is building the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem. The Site Readiness & Development team owns the upstream diligence and development work required to convert powered-land opportunities into executable infrastructure options. About the Role The Site Selection Lead sets the site-selection strategy for powered-land and greenfield/brownfield opportunities. This role defines, with cross-functional partners, what makes a site attractive, executable, and scalable, then turns that shared rubric into portfolio choices and deployment plans. Key Responsibilities Own the site-selection strategy across priority geographies, including market maps, pipeline segmentation, source refreshes, live-location tracking, and portfolio prioritization. Convene Power, Land, Development, Engineering, Construction, Environmental, Community, Commercial, Legal, and Finance partners to define the shared rubric for a high-quality site. Translate that rubric into clear screening criteria across power readiness, land control, timing, scale, cost, community risk, environmental constraints, AHJ path, budget, schedule, and counterparty credibility. Orchestrate Commercial, Legal, Finance, Power, and Development teams to shape exclusivity, initial terms, site-control strategy, funding assumptions, and the path to deployment before deeper commitment. Build a deployment plan for top candidates that identifies capacity, sequencing, capital implications, critical-path approvals, risks, owners, and stage-gate decisions. Lead conceptual site planning and test-fit screening using boundaries, map layers, buildings, substations, roads, parking, laydown, stormwater, utility corridors, acreage, and estimated load. Maintain a single decision-support view of pipeline stage, site health, power readiness, finance review, maps, project evidence, outstanding source data, owners, deadlines, and escalations. Present executive-ready advance, defer, or stop recommendations with clear trade-offs, resource asks, and next steps; hand qualified sites to the Development Lead with a complete screening record. Qualifications 6+ years in site selection, infrastructure development, data center development, energy development, commercial real estate, or a related field. Strong strategic judgment on market intelligence, portfolio construction, site viability, counterparty credibility, and p…