Site Civil, Structural & Architectural Lead (CSLA)

About the Role

Lead OpenAI’s field delivery of civil works, structures, building envelope, architectural fit-out and landscape interfaces, from site preparation through completed facilities.

You will be OpenAI’s accountable on-site lead for civil, structural, landscape and architectural construction, directing and overseeing the work of general contractors, specialist contractors and other service providers within your discipline. You will combine practical subject-matter depth with hands-on field leadership, managing contracted support to deliver safe, high-quality work to the integrated construction plan.

Reporting and scope

Report to the Site Construction Manager, who reports through the applicable project-management leadership. Coordinate design interpretation and technical decisions with the responsible civil, structural and architectural engineers.

Own day-to-day discipline execution and contractor performance within the assigned site scope and delegated authority. Coordinate priorities and interfaces through the Site Construction Manager; escalate material cost, schedule, design and acceptance decisions to the appropriate owners.

This is a senior site delivery role, suited to an experienced superintendent, supervisor, manager or trade lead. Accountability is for an assigned discipline and site work packages. Site assignment, duration and any shared coverage follow project phase, workload and the staffing plan; effective on-site coverage is required during critical activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct and coordinate general contractors, civil and structural trades, architectural contractors and specialist service providers against the approved design, construction schedule and quality requirements.

• Oversee earthworks, grading, drainage, underground interfaces, foundations, concrete, structural steel, building envelope and architectural completion; coordinate landscape and external works.

• Review constructability, work sequencing, contractor work plans, RFIs, submittals and proposed changes; obtain design decisions from the responsible engineers and track field implementation.

• Coordinate building and underground interfaces with mechanical, electrical and network leads and hardware deployment teams, protecting access, equipment routes and installation readiness.

• Inspect work with quality teams, track nonconformances and punch lists, and verify contractor closeout, as-built records and turnover readiness.

• Set clear contractor deliverables and work priorities; review staffing, progress and quality, identify constraints early, and drive recovery actions through the Site Construction Manager.

• Provide concise progress and risk reporting, evaluate field impacts of proposed changes, and maintain accountable handoffs between construction partners and OpenAI teams.

Qualifications

• Typically 8–10 years of civil, structural or architectural construction experience, including substantial data center or comparable complex industrial site delivery and responsibility for contractors or multiple work packages. Equivalent depth of practical delivery experience will be considered.

• Ability to read and coordinate civil, structural and architectural drawings, specifications, surveys and relevant geotechnical information, recognizing impacts on grading, drainage, earthworks, foundations, underground services and building construction.

• Experience translating approved designs into buildable field packages, sequencing, temporary-work interfaces and inspection hold points; assess utility conflicts, equipment access and phased handover before releasing work.

• Experience reviewing RFIs, submittals and field changes, coordinating design decisions with the engineer of record, and verifying approved changes in the field while preserving clear design responsibility.

• Practical knowledge of inspection and acceptance evidence for civil works, concrete, steel, building envelope and architectural completion, including nonconformance resolution, punch lists and as-built records.

• Ability to coordinate construction with permitting conditions, environmental constraints and authorities having jurisdiction through the responsible engineering and EHS teams.

• Demonstrated ability to lead contractors and service providers through changing site conditions, set clear deliverables and acceptance criteria, and resolve performance gaps across organizations without relying on direct reporting authority.

• Strong written and verbal communication: maintain accurate field records, action and decision logs, and explain technical risks, schedule impacts and recovery options to site leadership, engineers and delivery partners.

• Sound judgment when information is incomplete: identify assumptions, prerequisites and interfaces, determine what work can proceed within approved authority, and escalate unresolved risks before they affect safety, quality or delivery.

• Relevant trade, apprenticeship, technical or degree-based preparation, or equivalent practical experience. Demonstrated field leadership and subject-matter competence are central to this site role.

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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