OpenAI
AI
TechLead,Deployment&Operations—CustomInfrastructure
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“Tech Lead, Deployment & Operations — Custom Infrastructure at OpenAI. Skills: deployment, operations, custom silicon, systems, data center environments, hardware bring-up, validation, operational readiness, reliability at scale, leadership, technical execution. Lead deployment and operations for OpenAI’s Silicon & Systems team. Ensure successful deployment, bring-up, validation, operational readiness, and ongoing reliability at scale”
What You'll Achieve.
Ensure successful deployment, bring-up, validation, operational readiness, and ongoing reliability at scale; Establish clear metrics for deployment readiness, reliability, performance, maintainability, and operational health; Ensure OpenAI’s custom hardware platforms can be deployed and operated reliably, repeatably, and safely at scale
Industry & Context.
debugging; issue resolution; failure analysis; operational debugging; root-cause analysis; technical problem solving
Candidates for this role may need to meet certain legal status requirements as provided in U.S. export control laws and regulations.
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
8+ years of engineering experience in hardware systems, infrastructure, data center deployment, production operations, systems engineering, silicon bring-up, or related technical domains, technical depth in one or more of: hardware deployment, data center operations, rack-scale systems, silicon bring-up, systems validation, fleet operations, reliability engineering, infrastructure automation, or hardware/software integration, Experience bringing complex hardware systems from development or validation into production environments, Experience working closely with silicon, systems, software, infrastructure, networking, or data center teams, Experience with deployment planning, operational readiness, incident response, debugging, and root-cause analysis for production systems, Experience building tooling, automation, observability, or operational processes that improve deployment quality and fleet reliability, Demonstrated ability to hire, develop, and lead senior technical talent, Ability to move fluidly between people leadership, technical strategy, and hands-on operational problem solving, written and verbal communication skills, especially in high-urgency, cross-functional technical environments, Experience working in fast-moving environments
Nice to Have
Enjoy mentoring and developing engineers while staying deeply engaged in technical execution, Excited by the challenge of bringing new custom hardware platforms into real-world production data center environments, Can operate across silicon, systems, software, infrastructure, and data center operations, Comfortable leading through ambiguity, especially when the hardware, tooling, and operational model are still being built, Judgment around deployment sequencing, technical risk, operational readiness, and when to escalate, Communicate clearly across technical and operational teams, and can align stakeholders through complex deployment and production issues, Care deeply about building practical systems, tools, and processes that work reliably at scale, Bias toward ownership and are comfortable jumping into urgent technical issues when needed
What You'll Do.
Lead deployment and operations for OpenAI’s Silicon & Systems team
Ensure successful deployment
operational readiness
and ongoing reliability at scale
Lead a team focused on taking new hardware platforms from lab validation into production data center deployment
Build the operational processes
and cross-functional alignment required to deploy and operate custom AI hardware reliably
Own the path from hardware bring-up and validation through production deployment
operational readiness
and sustained fleet support
Define deployment processes
operational playbooks
technical readiness criteria
and reliability practices for new hardware platforms
Drive cross-functional execution across lab bring-up
rack/system integration
data center deployment
Stay hands-on technically through architecture reviews
operational debugging
and critical system-level decision-making
Identify gaps in tooling
and operational processes
and build plans to close them
Establish clear metrics for deployment readiness
and operational health
Build a engineering culture grounded in ownership
operational excellence
and high-velocity execution
Ensure OpenAI’s custom hardware platforms can be deployed and operated reliably
Be a contributor and technical driver for the architecture and design of future ML systems
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Partner closely with silicon, systems, software, infrastructure, networking, data center, supply chain, and external partner teams to ensure successful deployment at scale; Drive cross-functional execution across lab bring-up, rack/system integration, data center deployment, fleet monitoring, debugging, and issue resolution; Communicate clearly across technical and operational teams, and can align stakeholders through complex deployment and production issues
Communication Scope
written and verbal communication skills, especially in high-urgency, cross-functional technical environments; Communicate clearly across technical and operational teams, and can align stakeholders through complex deployment and production issues
Process & Methodology
deployment planning, deployment sequencing, technical risk assessment
Full Job Description
ABOUT THE TEAM OpenAI’s Hardware organization develops silicon and system-level solutions designed for the unique demands of advanced AI workloads. The team is responsible for building the next generation of AI-native silicon while working closely with software and research partners to co-design hardware tightly integrated with AI models. In addition to delivering production-grade silicon for OpenAI’s supercomputing infrastructure, the team also creates custom design tools and methodologies that accelerate innovation and enable hardware optimized specifically for AI. ABOUT THE ROLE We are seeking a Technical Lead to lead deployment and operations for OpenAI’s Silicon & Systems team. This person will become the Directly-Responsible Individual responsible for bringing OpenAI’s custom silicon and associated systems into data center environments, ensuring successful deployment, bring-up, validation, operational readiness, and ongoing reliability at scale. This role sits at the intersection of silicon, systems, infrastructure, data center operations, and software. You will lead a team focused on taking new hardware platforms from lab validation into production data center deployment. You will be responsible for building the operational processes, technical workflows, tooling, and cross-functional alignment required to deploy and operate custom AI hardware reliably in OpenAI’s supercomputing infrastructure. The ideal candidate is both a strong leader and a deeply technical operator. You should be comfortable staying close to the technical details of hardware bring-up, fleet deployment, debugging, system validation, data center integration, and production operations. This role requires strong execution, excellent cross-functional judgment, and the ability to drive clarity in ambiguous, fast-moving environments. IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL: - Lead a team responsible for deployment and operations of OpenAI’s custom silicon and systems in data center environments - Own the path fr
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