Land Development & Due Diligence Lead
openai
Job Score
100 ptsAbout the Team
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
Responsible for validating that proposed sites are buildable, compliant, and cost-effective. You will lead diligence across civil, geotechnical, environmental, and entitlement dimensions, identifying risks and driving mitigation strategies.
Key Responsibilities
Lead all technical diligence: geotech, soils, title/ALTA surveys, mineral rights, and access.
Oversee permitting/entitlement path and schedule governance with agencies.
Evaluate generator air permits, wetlands, floodplain, and stormwater constraints.
Manage consultants performing feasibility studies and environmental assessments.
Deliver go/no-go recommendations with risk and mitigation options.
Build diligence templates and playbooks to scale future site reviews.
Qualifications
8+ years in land development, civil/environmental engineering, or data center diligence.
Knowledge of permitting, entitlements, and AHJ engagement.
Strong project management and technical review skills.
Experience managing consultants and interpreting complex studies.
Regularly communicate site readiness updates, risks, and milestones to executive stakeholders
Establish and track key performance indicators to assess the effectiveness of the site selection program and the contributions of external vendors and partners.
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.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.
OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy
At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.
About Project Manager
The Project Manager is the professional responsible for planning, executing, and controlling projects end-to-end, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget, and with the expected quality. With the growing complexity of businesses, project management professionals are fundamental to organizational success.
Key skills include planning and scheduling, scope, cost, risk, quality, and resource management, stakeholder communication, cross-functional team leadership, and use of agile and traditional methodologies. Certifications like PMP, PRINCE2, and Six Sigma are important differentiators.
Project Managers in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban), tools like Jira and MS Project, and can deliver complex projects efficiently. The field offers opportunities from project analyst to head of PMO, with a focus on execution, governance, and business value.
About Product Manager
The Product Manager (PM) is the professional responsible for defining the strategy, vision, and roadmap of a digital product. They work at the intersection of technology, business, and user experience (UX), leading the discovery and delivery of solutions that solve real problems in a viable way for the company.
Key skills include product discovery, data and metrics analysis (AARRR, NPS, LTV), user research, go-to-market strategy, roadmapping, strategic prioritization, and leadership by influence. Tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, Hotjar, Jira, and Notion are fundamental.
Product Managers play a central role in the growth of startups, scale-ups, and large technology companies, with career progression opportunities to Product Leader, Head of Product, and Chief Product Officer (CPO).
About Advertising
The Advertising area is aimed at the planning, creation, and delivery of communication campaigns to promote brands, products, ideas, or services. Professionals in the sector work in advertising agencies or in-house marketing departments in creative fields (art direction, copywriting), strategic planning, account management, and media buying.
Discover Other Areas
Understand the scope of work, key skills, and tools used in different career areas.
About Human Resources
The Human Resources area is responsible for all people management in organizations, from attracting and selecting talent to developing, retaining, and ensuring employee well-being. HR professionals are fundamental to building strong organizational cultures and engagement.
Key skills include recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits management, learning and development (L&D), organizational climate, employee engagement, labor law, labor relations, and HR tools (Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Bamboo HR). Knowledge of people analytics and data-driven HR is a differentiator.
HR professionals in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master employer branding, people analytics, and talent retention strategies. The field offers opportunities from HR analyst to Chief People Officer, with a focus on culture, engagement, and people growth.
About Product Management
Product Management is one of the most strategically relevant areas in technology organizations. The Product Manager is responsible for defining product vision, prioritizing features, and coordinating multidisciplinary teams to deliver value to users.
Essential skills include strategic thinking, data analysis, communication, leadership, and technical knowledge. Tools like Jira, Confluence, Miro, and analytics platforms are fundamental in daily work.
Salaries for PMs range from entry-level to senior positions at major tech companies, with growing opportunities for international remote work.
About Infrastructure and DevOps
Infrastructure and DevOps are responsible for creating, maintaining, and optimizing IT environments that support applications at scale. This area is fundamental for system reliability and performance.
Key technologies include AWS, GCP, Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, CI/CD (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins), and monitoring (Datadog, Grafana, Prometheus).
DevOps engineers and SREs are highly sought-after professionals, with salaries among the highest in the technology sector.
About Frontend
The Frontend area is responsible for creating the visual interfaces that users interact with on websites and web applications. Frontend professionals combine technical skills with design to deliver intuitive, responsive, and accessible digital experiences.
Key skills include HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript, frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue, build tools (Webpack, Vite), CSS (Tailwind, Sass), testing (Jest, Cypress), and knowledge of web performance and accessibility (WCAG). Familiarity with design systems and reusable components is a differentiator.
Frontend developers in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master React, Next.js, web performance, and accessibility. The field offers opportunities from junior developer to frontend architect, with a focus on user experience, performance, and code quality.
About Fullstack
Fullstack developers are versatile professionals capable of working on both frontend and backend of web and mobile applications. They master multiple technologies and can build complete products end-to-end, from the user interface to server infrastructure.
Key skills include proficiency in at least one complete stack (React/Vue/Angular + Node.js/PHP/Python/Java), databases (SQL and NoSQL), REST/GraphQL APIs, Git versioning, CI/CD, and basic infrastructure knowledge (Docker, cloud). Clean architecture, DDD, and testing are important differentiators.
Fullstack developers are highly valued in startups and companies that need versatile and autonomous professionals. The field offers opportunities from junior developer to software architect, with a focus on complete delivery, holistic product vision, and ability to work across multiple application layers.
Comments 0