--- title: 'Technical Program Manager, Infrastructure Systems & Tooling at OpenAI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/technical-program-manager-infrastructure-systems-tooling-openai-san-francisco-3fvyegdc17k7' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-10' --- # Technical Program Manager, Infrastructure Systems & Tooling at OpenAI - **Company:** [OpenAI](https://feeny.ai/companies/openai) - **Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Compensation:** $225k–$285k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-09-04 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/openai/4a4a2604-b4b3-4944-a2a2-4ec4c5261d7d ## Job description ## About the Team OpenAI's Industrial Compute organization is building and operating the infrastructure foundation for the next generation of AI. Infrastructure Operations works across facilities, hardware, network operations, incident management, data center engineering, delivery teams, and external partners to bring capacity online safely, understand its operational state, and improve it over time. As OpenAI's data center portfolio grows across first-party and partner-delivered capacity, the organization needs clear goals, trusted data, repeatable processes, and systems that make ownership, risk, readiness, and performance visible. This role will help build the operating mechanisms that allow Infrastructure Operations to scale with rigor. ## About the Role We are seeking a Technical Program Manager to own the systems, data, reporting, governance, and program-management backbone for Infrastructure Operations. Reporting to the Delivery & Operations Lead, you will translate strategy into executable goals and operating cadences, turn operational needs into software and data solutions, and create the mechanisms that keep a rapidly evolving organization aligned and accountable. This role will also own the current 1P+3P delivery-tracking layer within Operations: milestones, delivery timelines, quantity forecasts, risks, decisions, and executive reporting. You will partner closely with 1P Delivery Program Management, Compute TPMs, Data Center Engineering, construction, commissioning, and operations leaders to ensure that delivery information becomes complete, usable input for readiness, handover, and ongoing operations. You will own program health and the operating system around it: the goals, data definitions, workflows, reporting, decision paths, and follow-through that help functional DRIs execute. The ideal candidate is comfortable in ambiguity, technically fluent enough to implement real systems, and relentless about converting scattered information into durable mechanisms. ## Key Responsibilities Establish and run Infrastructure Operations' goal-setting and operating cadence, including quarterly goals, weekly performance reviews, prioritization, action tracking, decision logs, escalation paths, and closure criteria. - Translate leadership priorities into clear programs with owners, milestones, dependencies, success metrics, and resourcing assumptions; maintain source-of-truth hygiene across goals, status, dates, risks, and decisions. - Build and operate dashboards, scorecards, and executive-ready reporting for operational health, capacity readiness, SLA and MTTR performance, delivery pipeline status, and material risks. - Define authoritative data models and reporting standards for milestones, timelines, delivery risk, capacity state, readiness, handover, exceptions, and operational performance; drive consistent adoption across the portfolio. - Own the 1P+3P delivery-tracking program across sites and partners, integrating schedule and progress inputs, maintaining quantity and timeline forecasts, surfacing risks early, and driving cross-functional follow-through. - Define Operations' requirements for capacity acceptance and operational handover, including readiness evidence, risk and exception workflows, approvals, sign-offs, and post-handover action tracking. - Own the Information Governance Process and controlled-document lifecycle across relevant Operations workflows, including standards, procedures, work instructions, templates, ownership, approvals, versioning, exceptions, and obsolescence. - Lead operations software and tooling implementations from discovery through rollout: map workflows, write requirements, design data and integration patterns, partner with engineering and vendors, test solutions, and drive adoption. - Improve the connections among reporting, ticketing, knowledge, delivery-tracking, sourcing, and operational systems so teams can work from consistent data instead of manual, fragmented updates. - Program-manage cross-functional initiatives across Infrastructure Operations and its interfaces with Data Center Engineering, Compute TPMs, 1P Delivery, construction, commissioning, sourcing, and external infrastructure partners. - Coordinate internal and external resources supporting systems, dashboards, process design, and document governance; make dependencies and ownership explicit while keeping functional DRIs accountable for their domains. - Capture lessons learned, identify recurring operational bottlenecks, and implement automation and process improvements that make the organization more predictable, scalable, and effective. ## Qualifications - Have 8+ years of experience in technical program management, operations program management, infrastructure delivery, operations transformation, or a comparable role in a complex technical environment. - Have led end-to-end software or systems implementations for an operations organization, including workflow discovery, requirements, data models, integrations, testing, rollout, adoption, and continuous improvement. - Are fluent with dashboards, KPIs, operational data, and executive reporting; you can turn incomplete inputs into clear definitions, trusted metrics, and decisions. - Have built governance mechanisms that work in practice: goal-setting, operating reviews, intake and prioritization, risk and issue management, action tracking, decision logs, and escalation. - Bring experience with data centers, construction, commissioning, infrastructure operations, cloud, manufacturing, or another mission-critical physical-infrastructure environment. - Can influence across senior leaders, technical DRIs, vendors, and partner organizations without relying on direct authority, and communicate clearly from working-team detail to executive summary. - Are comfortable navigating ambiguity, changing ownership boundaries, urgent timelines, and high operational stakes while maintaining rigor and momentum. - Hold a bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Construction Management, Operations Management, Business, or an equivalent combination of education and practical experience. ## Preferred Skills - Experience with hyperscale or AI infrastructure, including 1P, 3P, colocation, or CSP delivery models. - Familiarity with project controls, scheduling, operational readiness, commissioning, capacity acceptance, SLA/MTTR reporting, incident or ticketing workflows, and handover governance. - Technical fluency with APIs, integration patterns, BI/reporting tools, workflow platforms, data quality controls, and automation; SQL or equivalent analytical skills are a plus. - Experience managing vendors, consultants, or embedded support resources and converting ad hoc support into repeatable operating capability. ## 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](https://cdn.openai.com/policies/eeo-policy-statement.pdf). 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](https://form.asana.com/?d=57018692298241&k=5MqR40fZd7jlxVUh5J-UeA). 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](https://form.asana.com/?k=bQ7w9h3iexRlicUdWRiwvg&d=57018692298241). [OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy](https://cdn.openai.com/policies/global-employee-and-contractor-privacy-policy.pdf) 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 OpenAI ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company with a mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. - **Entity Type**: Private – structured as a nonprofit parent (OpenAI Foundation) governing a for-profit public benefit corporation (OpenAI Group). The company has confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the SEC, signaling a potential future IPO. - **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, USA - **Founded**: 2015 - **Founders**: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, John Schulman, Wojciech Zaremba, and others ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Artificial intelligence research and deployment - **Target customers**: B2B (enterprises via API and platform), B2C (ChatGPT users), and developers (API, open-source models) - **Mission**: To ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) – AI systems that are generally smarter than humans – benefits all of humanity. ## Products & Services - **[ChatGPT](https://openai.com/chatgpt)**: Conversational AI assistant available via web and mobile, used by consumers and integrated into enterprise workflows. - **[GPT-4 API](https://openai.com/product)**: Large language model accessed via API for developers to build AI-powered applications (text generation, summarization, code assistance, etc.). - **[DALL-E](https://openai.com/dall-e-3)**: Image generation model that creates images from natural language descriptions. - **[Whisper](https://openai.com/research/whisper)**: Open-source speech recognition system. - **[OpenAI Agents](https://openai.com/)**: Emerging product category focused on autonomous AI agents that can perform tasks on behalf of users (announced June 2026). ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed in the provided sources. Widely reported in the press at ~$300 billion as of early 2026 (post-funding round), but this figure is not confirmed by OpenAI’s official materials. - **Key Metric**: Total funding exceeds $13 billion from Microsoft and other investors. The company has also confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the SEC (see [openai.com](https://openai.com/) – “Confidential submission of draft S-1”). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Microsoft (strategic partner and largest investor), with additional participation from Thrive Capital, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and others. - **Growth Signals**: Active hiring with 721 open roles posted; expansion into agent-based products; confidential IPO filing; continued deployment of frontier models. ## Competitive Advantages - **First-mover & brand recognition**: ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer app in history, establishing OpenAI as the household name in generative AI. - **Research leadership**: Consistently publishes cutting-edge research (GPT-4, DALL-E 3, Whisper, etc.) and attracts top AI talent. - **Compute & infrastructure**: Exclusive partnership with Microsoft provides massive cloud computing resources (Azure) for training and inference. - **Unique governance structure**: The nonprofit parent ensures mission alignment (AGI benefiting humanity) while the for-profit arm can raise capital and scale products. ## Strategic Focus - **Safe AGI development**: Continued emphasis on safety research, alignment, and responsible deployment (e.g., safety systems, model provenance). - **Enterprise expansion**: Growing ChatGPT Enterprise and API offerings for businesses. - **Agentic AI**: Building autonomous agents that can “transform work” (announced June 2026). - **IPO preparation**: Confidential S-1 filing indicates intent to go public, which will require increased financial transparency and governance maturity. ## Why Work Here - **Culture & values**: OpenAI’s stated values include “Humanity first,” “Act with humility,” “Feel the AGI,” and “Ship joy.” Operating principles emphasize agency, creativity, rapid iteration, and intense focus. - **Benefits**: Competitive health insurance, mental healthcare support, 24-week paid birth-parent leave (plus 20 weeks for other parents), generous PTO, annual learning & development stipend, daily meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and a domestic conference budget. - **Work environment**: Hybrid/office-based (San Francisco headquarters). The company offers a residency program for researchers and engineers transitioning into AI. - **Impact**: Employees work directly on frontier AI models that shape the industry and society. The mission-driven nature attracts talent passionate about AGI’s societal implications. ## Sources 1. [OpenAI About Page](https://openai.com/about/) 2. [OpenAI Careers Page](https://openai.com/careers/) 3. [OpenAI Job Search](https://openai.com/careers/search) 4. [OpenAI Homepage](https://openai.com/) ## Other roles at OpenAI - [Account Director, Digital Natives](https://feeny.ai/job/account-director-digital-natives-openai-delhi-w85camznm9da) — Delhi, India - [Product Designer, Youth](https://feeny.ai/job/product-designer-youth-openai-san-francisco-y2ejwx2gxsn1) — San Francisco, CA - [Senior Manager, EHS - Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manager-ehs-robotics-openai-san-francisco-562ppxrm3e6n) — San Francisco, CA - [Hardware Strategic Sourcing Manager, Optics](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-strategic-sourcing-manager-optics-openai-san-francisco-vrghp3x83twa) — San Francisco, CA - [Research Program Manager, Governance](https://feeny.ai/job/research-program-manager-governance-openai-san-francisco-t9jpag8tgexs) — San Francisco, CA - [Partnerships Operations Lead, OAI for Government](https://feeny.ai/job/partnerships-operations-lead-oai-for-government-openai-washington-vzejrcam99mr) — Washington, DC - [Technical Program Manager, Manufacturing Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-program-manager-manufacturing-operations-openai-singapore-2px9t2t2dyvy) — Singapore - [Creative Director, Copy](https://feeny.ai/job/creative-director-copy-openai-new-york-jd7jgsad5xr4) — New York, NY - [Engineering Manager, ChatGPT Search Infrastructure](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-chatgpt-search-infrastructure-openai-san-francisco-hh32vszf6wmn) — San Francisco, CA - [Physical Design Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/physical-design-engineer-forward-deployed-engineering-openai-san-francisco-qqh4c31zzvj5) — San Francisco, CA