Clean Energy and New Technology Lead

About the role

This role focuses on developing and implementing strategies for clean energy and new energy technologies to support OpenAI's expanding infrastructure. You will identify and deploy scalable solutions for resilient, low-carbon compute and data center growth. This position involves evaluating emerging technologies and translating them into practical deployment plans, ensuring infrastructure development aligns with environmental goals.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Assess new energy solutions like clean firm power, advanced storage, grid flexibility, low-carbon backup power, heat reuse, and water-related energy efficiency.
• Discover pilot opportunities and deployment paths to transition promising energy technologies from concept to commercial and operational viability.
• Translate technical options into clear implications for reliability, cost, schedule, carbon footprint, regulatory compliance, and operational aspects for infrastructure decisions.
• Collaborate with energy regulatory, policy, procurement, engineering, deployment, finance, legal, and site-readiness teams to align technology and sustainability choices with project requirements.
• Monitor external developments in market trends, policy changes, utility programs, and technology advancements.
• Create repeatable evaluation frameworks, partner criteria, and execution playbooks for sustainability and emerging energy technology initiatives.

Requirements

• 15 or more years of experience in energy technology, infrastructure sustainability, clean energy procurement, power markets, data center energy strategy, or utility programs.
• Strong understanding of power systems, low-carbon energy, grid limitations, infrastructure reliability, and the practical demands of large-scale deployment.
• Experience evaluating new technologies, structuring pilot programs, or advancing early-stage solutions toward commercialization.
• Ability to balance sustainability goals with constraints related to reliability, cost, schedule, regulatory compliance, and operations.
• Demonstrated cross-functional leadership across technical, commercial, policy, and executive stakeholders.
• Excellent analytical, written communication, and executive-summary writing skills.

Practical notes

Background checks are administered in accordance with applicable law. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered consistent with laws including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and California Fair Chance Act for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers, criminal history may be considered if it directly relates to protecting computer hardware, returning hardware, maintaining confidentiality, and accessing secure IT systems. OpenAI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.