HSE and Portfolio Performance Lead

About the Team

The Data Center Build and Delivery team develops the infrastructure that supports OpenAI’s research and products. We work with engineering, construction partners and Operations to deliver safe, reliable facilities at scale. As our portfolio grows, consistent health, safety and environmental practices and clear performance measures help teams identify risks early and deliver sites that are ready to operate.

About the Role

We are looking for an HSE and Portfolio Performance Lead to strengthen health, safety and environmental oversight and performance management across our data center construction portfolio. You will help sites meet applicable OSHA standards and other HSE requirements, from construction through commissioning and handoff to Operations.

You will work across site teams, delivery partners and central functions to establish practical expectations, verify execution and turn portfolio data into action. This role combines hands-on HSE expertise with a portfolio view of contractor performance, risk and operational readiness.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop a consistent portfolio HSE framework covering contractor expectations, risk assessments, field verification, training and escalation, aligned with OpenAI’s EHS standards and relevant specialists.

• Translate applicable OSHA construction and general-industry requirements into practical site expectations, verify implementation and clarify responsibilities as work transitions from construction to commissioning and Operations.

• Partner with site and discipline leaders to assess high-risk work, verify critical controls and escalate unsafe conditions, including electrical energization, hazardous energy, lifting, excavation and concurrent construction and operating activities.

• Establish portfolio performance measures and reporting for HSE outcomes, contractor performance, corrective-action closure and handoff readiness; align definitions with delivery and Operations teams and validate data quality.

• Lead cross-site performance reviews to identify recurring risks, compare execution against agreed expectations and drive improvement plans with accountable owners, milestones and follow-through.

• Plan risk-based site assurance and contractor reviews, support incident and near-miss investigations, verify corrective actions and embed lessons learned across the portfolio.

• Coordinate environmental compliance with site teams and specialists, including waste management, spill prevention, stormwater controls and relevant permit obligations.

• Define HSE readiness criteria for operational handoff with commissioning and Operations teams, including training, procedures, emergency preparedness, outstanding risks and transfer of required records.

• Provide clear portfolio updates and recommendations to leadership, surface decisions and resource needs early, and build consistent safety leadership across employees, developers, contractors and service providers.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience leading HSE programs for major construction or complex industrial projects, including oversight across multiple sites or workstreams and responsibility for contractor performance.

• Working knowledge of applicable OSHA construction and general-industry standards, with experience translating requirements into site controls and verifying implementation across construction, commissioning and operating interfaces.

• Practical understanding of data center or complex industrial hazards, including electrical safety, hazardous-energy control and high-risk construction activities.

• Demonstrated ability to build assurance, performance reporting and corrective-action programs and use leading and lagging indicators to improve outcomes.

• Experience coordinating contractors, site leaders and functional specialists through commissioning and operational handoff, with clear accountability across organizational boundaries.

• Strong communication and judgment, with the ability to explain technical risk, influence leaders and field teams, and prioritize action in fast-changing environments.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with owner-side HSE oversight across a data center or mission-critical infrastructure portfolio, including developer-led and self-build delivery models.

• Experience integrating environmental compliance, emergency preparedness and HSE management systems into construction and operational readiness programs.

• Relevant professional credentials, such as CSP, CIH or an equivalent safety or environmental qualification, or comparable practical expertise.

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 to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

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