About the RoleThe Clean Energy and New Technology Lead will own infrastructure clean energy and emerging energy technology strategy and execution, identifying and deploying scalable solutions that enable resilient, low-carbon compute and data center growth. The role will work closely with regulatory and policy teams to align infrastructure expansion with OpenAI's long-term environmental and operational objectives. The role will work closely with regulatory and policy teams and coordinate with the company's central sustainability function as it develops to align infrastructure expansion with OpenAI's long-term environmental and operational objectives.
This is an individual contributor lead role and does not have direct reports initially. The role will evaluate where emerging energy technologies can materially improve reliability, cost, carbon, speed, or resilience; translate those options into practical deployment pathways; and help ensure OpenAI's infrastructure growth remains aligned with sustainability considerations.
Key Responsibilities - Evaluate emerging energy solutions such as clean firm power, advanced storage, grid flexibility, low-carbon backup power, heat reuse, water-related energy efficiency, and other scalable technologies where relevant.
- Identify pilot opportunities and deployment pathways that can move promising energy technologies from concept to commercially and operationally credible execution.
- Translate technical options into clear reliability, cost, schedule, carbon, regulatory, and operational implications for infrastructure decision-making.
- Partner with energy regulatory, policy, procurement, engineering, deployment, finance, legal, and site-readiness teams to align technology and sustainability choices with project needs.
- Coordinate with OpenAI's central sustainability function as it develops to ensure infrastructure-specific goals, metrics, reporting, and commitments remain consistent.
- Track external market, policy, utility, and technology developments that could affect OpenAI's ability to scale resilient, low-carbon infrastructure.
- Build repeatable evaluation frameworks, partner criteria, and execution playbooks for sustainability and emerging energy technology initiatives.
Qualifications- 15+ years in energy technology, infrastructure sustainability, clean energy procurement, power markets, data center energy strategy, utility programs, or related roles.
- Strong understanding of power systems, low-carbon energy, grid constraints, infrastructure reliability, and the practical requirements of large-scale deployment.
- Experience evaluating emerging technologies, structuring pilots, or moving early-stage solutions toward commercial implementation.
- Ability to balance sustainability objectives with reliability, cost, schedule, regulatory, and operational constraints.
- Proven cross-functional leadership across technical, commercial, policy, and executive stakeholders.
- Excellent analytical, written communication, and executive-summary skills.
