About the RoleWe are seeking a Data Center Shell Planning Lead to own portfolio-level planning for future data center shell capacity. This role will translate compute-demand forecasts, power availability, technical requirements, and development schedules into a clear strategy for where, when, and how much shell capacity OpenAI should secure or build.
You will evaluate capacity across self-build, lease, colocation, and development-partner pathways; identify future supply gaps; recommend campus and building phasing; and maintain the integrated plan connecting site readiness to construction, commissioning, and operational handoff.
This is an individual contributor lead role requiring strong analytical judgment, infrastructure-development fluency, and the ability to drive decisions across teams without relying on formal authority.
Key Responsibilities- Develop and maintain a multi-year portfolio plan for data center shell capacity across priority geographies.
- Translate compute forecasts, IT-load requirements, rack-density assumptions, power schedules, cooling requirements, and deployment timelines into site and building requirements.
- Determine when shell capacity must be secured, designed, constructed, commissioned, and ready for technical fit-out.
- Integrate land, utility, interconnection, permitting, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and network-readiness schedules into a single capacity view.
- Identify capacity gaps, schedule conflicts, stranded-capacity risks, and dependencies that could prevent infrastructure from becoming operational on time.
- Develop scenario models comparing self-build, lease, colocation, and strategic development-partner options.
- Evaluate delivery pathways based on schedule, cost, control, flexibility, reliability, scalability, and execution risk.
- Recommend campus, building, and utility phasing that preserves optionality while supporting near-term deployment requirements.
- Assess third-party proposals and determine whether proposed facilities, schedules, technical specifications, and commercial structures can satisfy OpenAI's requirements.
- Partner with capacity planning, energy, real estate, site development, design, construction, commissioning, networking, finance, legal, and commercial teams.
- Establish planning assumptions, readiness criteria, decision gates, and governance for moving opportunities from portfolio planning into execution.
- Build dashboards and executive-ready materials that communicate capacity supply, demand, timing, assumptions, dependencies, and material risks.
- Support investment, build-versus-partner, geographic-prioritization, and portfolio-allocation decisions.
- Create repeatable planning frameworks and playbooks that allow OpenAI to scale shell-capacity decisions across regions and infrastructure generations.
Qualifications- 8+ years of experience in data center development, infrastructure planning, capacity planning, real estate development, construction planning, program controls, or a related field.
- Experience developing or managing portfolio-level plans across multiple data center sites, buildings, or infrastructure programs.
- Strong understanding of the data center development lifecycle, including site readiness, power delivery, design, permitting, construction, commissioning, and operational turnover.
- Ability to translate technical and demand requirements into facility-capacity, schedule, and phasing decisions.
- Strong quantitative and scenario-modeling skills, including the ability to work with incomplete or changing assumptions.
- Experience evaluating competing delivery strategies and communicating cost, schedule, flexibility, and risk tradeoffs.
- Strong cross-functional program leadership and the ability to create alignment across technical, commercial, and operational organizations.
- Excellent written communication and executive-presentation skills.
- Comfort operating in a fast-moving environment where capacity requirements, technical assumptions, and delivery timelines may change quickly.
Preferred Skills- Experience planning hyperscale data center campuses or infrastructure supporting high-density compute.
- Familiarity with powered-land development, utility and interconnection schedules, and campus-level power phasing.
- Experience evaluating self-build, build-to-suit, wholesale colocation, and third-party development models.
- Understanding of high-density electrical, mechanical, cooling, and network infrastructure requirements.
- Experience working with developers, capital partners, colocation providers, utilities, engineering firms, and construction organizations.
- Experience creating portfolio-planning systems, capacity dashboards, or executive decision frameworks for large infrastructure programs.
