Project Manager, Design and Construction - R&D/Lab Buildouts

About the Role

As an Industrial Builds Project Manager on the Design & Construction team, you will support OpenAI’s research, scaling and manufacturing activities by providing project management and leadership on mission critical construction projects with complex engineering design and extensive interfaces. This role owns technical coordination across MEP, civil/structural, and architectural scopes, and is accountable for on-time, on-budget delivery of complex build-outs.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA, but you will be expected to travel to project sites regularly, aligned with project requirements. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

• Lead full lifecycle execution of a range of infrastructure and facilities build-out projects simultaneously, including advanced compute facilities, labs, testing environments, and production spaces.

• Own detailed project estimating, budgeting, and financial analysis to ensure fiscal responsibility and efficiency. This includes securing capital funding

• Engage, contract and drive external partners (architects, contractors, construction managers and other consultants) to deliver mission-critical projects on accelerated timelines

• Collaborate closely on projects with internal teams like Real Estate, Operations, Corporate Security, IT/AV, EH&S, stakeholder team and Finance

• Partner closely with Leasing on site selection, providing due diligence and cost forecasting to support site acquisition

• Own the relationship with internal clients and executives, driving engagement, alignment, and decision-making.

• Develop and oversee technical due diligence efforts for each project, which may include technical assessments, AHJ coordination, utility requirements and feasibility studies.

• Develop and review concept designs, which will define programming that is aligned with all stakeholders and guide design development.

• Review and contribute to design drawings, mechanical and electrical layouts, utility diagrams, specifications, and technical documentation.

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Have 8+ years of experience delivering infrastructure projects in a fast-paced, hyper-scaling environment

• Bring a background in architecture, interior design, construction project management and Experience collaborating with engineering disciplines (MEP, structural, building systems)

• Possess deep expertise in construction budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis, with the ability to communicate cost drivers to non-technical stakeholders.

• Excel at building and leveraging relationships with external vendors, consultants, GCs, and internal teams, and can drive accountability across disciplines.

• Demonstrate strong leadership, ownership, and collaboration skills, with the ability to align diverse teams toward a unified project vision.

• Bring a collaborative and motivating approach to finding solutions rapidly.

• Lead vendor management and contract administration, including sourcing, negotiating, and managing agreements to ensure compliance, cost-effectiveness, and alignment with project goals

• Are an exceptional communicator—clear, concise, and confident in written, verbal, and large-group presentation settings, including with senior executives and high-level stakeholders.

• Have led multiple concurrent projects across geographies, with a track record of delivering on time, within budget, and to a high design standard.

• Thrive in a high-performance, fast-paced culture where time, energy, and attention to detail are in constant demand across multiple priorities and projects.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them...