About the RoleWe are seeking an EHS Lead to establish and drive environmental, health, and safety strategy across OpenAI's rapidly expanding compute infrastructure portfolio.
This role will develop the EHS framework for large-scale data center development and operations, partnering closely with engineering, construction, infrastructure delivery, facilities, operations, security, legal, environmental, and external development partners. The EHS Lead will help ensure that safety and environmental considerations are embedded into projects from early design and site development through construction, commissioning, and operations.
The role will establish standards and operating mechanisms, assess and mitigate risks, oversee EHS performance across internal teams and third-party partners, and provide technical leadership on complex or high-consequence safety issues. Success requires the ability to operate strategically while maintaining strong technical depth and executional rigor in fast-moving, highly complex infrastructure environments.
In this role, you will:- Develop and own EHS strategy, standards, programs, and operating mechanisms across OpenAI's data center and compute infrastructure portfolio.
- Establish scalable EHS requirements for site development, design, construction, commissioning, equipment installation, and ongoing data center operations.
- Partner with engineering and infrastructure delivery teams to identify and mitigate EHS risks during site selection, design development, construction planning, and project execution.
- Develop risk assessment frameworks for high-hazard activities and environments, including electrical systems, high-voltage infrastructure, construction activities, lifting and rigging, energized work, confined spaces, hazardous materials, fire protection, industrial equipment, and commissioning activities.
- Establish EHS requirements and performance expectations for developers, general contractors, engineering firms, equipment vendors, and other external partners.
- Build mechanisms for measuring EHS performance, including leading and lagging indicators, audits, inspections, incident reporting, corrective actions, and executive reporting.
- Lead investigations of significant incidents, near misses, and high-potential events, identifying systemic root causes and driving corrective and preventive actions.
- Develop and maintain emergency preparedness and response frameworks for critical infrastructure environments, partnering with security, facilities, operations, and local emergency response organizations.
- Provide technical EHS guidance during construction and commissioning activities, including review of construction execution plans, method statements, job hazard analyses, and high-risk work plans.
- Partner with environmental and sustainability teams to integrate environmental compliance and stewardship requirements into infrastructure development and operations.
- Establish governance processes to ensure EHS requirements are consistently implemented across a geographically distributed portfolio and through third-party operators and contractors.
- Monitor regulatory developments and evolving industry standards and translate them into practical requirements for OpenAI's infrastructure programs.
- Support permitting, regulatory engagement, inspections, and compliance activities in partnership with legal, environmental, and site development teams.
- Develop training, competency, and accountability programs that establish a strong EHS culture across employees, contractors, and infrastructure partners.
- Serve as a senior EHS advisor to infrastructure leadership, escalating material risks and providing clear recommendations on risk acceptance, mitigation, and project readiness.
- Identify opportunities to improve EHS through better engineering, automation, data, design standards, construction practices, and operational processes.
You might thrive in this role if you have:- Deep experience leading EHS programs for hyperscale data centers, mission-critical infrastructure, large industrial facilities, semiconductor manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, energy infrastructure, or similarly complex environments.
- Strong technical understanding of construction and operational safety, including electrical safety, high-voltage systems, construction activities, commissioning, industrial equipment, fire and life safety, and contractor management.
- Experience developing EHS standards and governance systems that can scale across a large, geographically distributed infrastructure portfolio.
- Demonstrated experience managing EHS performance across general contractors, engineering firms, developers, equipment suppliers, and other third-party partners.
- Strong understanding of U.S. federal, state, and local EHS regulations and regulatory frameworks, with the ability to translate requirements into practical engineering and operational standards.
- Experience conducting high-potential incident investigations, root-cause analysis, corrective action programs, and systemic risk reduction.
- Experience building EHS metrics, dashboards, audit programs, and executive-level reporting mechanisms that drive measurable improvements in performance.
- Strong knowledge of construction safety management systems and the ability to evaluate high-risk work plans, contractor safety programs, and project execution methodologies.
- Experience partnering with engineering and project delivery organizations to incorporate EHS requirements into design standards, construction planning, commissioning, and operational readiness.
- Strong understanding of environmental compliance, permitting, hazardous materials management, waste management, emergency response, and environmental risk management.
- Experience operating in rapidly scaling organizations where processes and standards must be built, adapted, and institutionalized as the infrastructure portfolio grows.
- Excellent judgment and communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex technical and regulatory risks clearly to executives, engineers, construction leaders, and external partners.
- Relevant professional credentials such as CSP, CIH, CHMM, PE, or equivalent EHS qualifications are valued.
- Willingness to travel regularly to construction sites, data centers, and infrastructure partner locations as required.
