Data Center Controls Engineer (BMS / EPMS)

Location: San Francisco, United States. The role requires periodic travel to data center campuses, vendors, labs, construction sites, commissioning activities, and controls/network cutovers; travel is approximately 50%.

Salary: $177K–$285K annually, plus equity.

Company

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company building infrastructure and products intended to ensure that general-purpose AI benefits humanity.

What you will do

• Program and configure PLCs and control systems for BMS/mechanical or EPMS/electrical applications in AI data center campuses.
• Implement and test sequences of operation, control logic, alarms, and interlocks against approved functional requirements.
• Integrate field devices, sensors, instrumentation, equipment controllers, and supervisory systems while validating point mapping, communications, and data quality.
• Maintain control documentation, configuration backups, version history, change records, rollback procedures, and commissioning records.
• Partner with mechanical, electrical, IT/networking, cybersecurity, operations, integrators, vendors, contractors, and commissioning teams to resolve integration and functional performance issues.
• Execute and document factory and site acceptance testing, point-to-point checks, sequence verification, and integrated systems testing; troubleshoot logic, instrumentation, alarms, and device communications.

Requirements

• Practical hands-on experience programming, configuring, integrating, or commissioning control systems in data centers, industrial automation, buildings, or other critical infrastructure environments.
• Working knowledge of PLC programming and control logic, including implementing and troubleshooting sequences of operation.
• Experience in either BMS/mechanical controls or EPMS/electrical controls; expertise in both is not required.
• Experience configuring field devices and instrumentation, validating I/O and point mapping, and diagnosing control system behavior.
• Working knowledge of industrial communication protocols and basic OT networking needed to connect and troubleshoot control systems, such as BACnet/IP, BACnet MS/TP, Modbus TCP/RTU, OPC UA, or IEC 61850.
• Ability to read control diagrams, equipment documentation, I/O lists, and functional specifications and maintain accurate implementation records.
• Hands-on experience with functional testing, commissioning, and systematic troubleshooting using trends, alarms, logs, and field observations.
• Ability to work with integrators, vendors, construction teams, and operations, communicate issues clearly, and follow safe-work and change-control practices.
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Controls or Automation Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice to have

• Experience at a controls systems integrator with regular responsibility for programming, configuration, field integration, and commissioning.
• Experience delivering BMS/mechanical or EPMS/electrical controls for data centers or other mission-critical facilities.
• Familiarity with supervisory controls, HMI/SCADA configuration, telemetry, and historian integrations.
• Familiarity with OT cybersecurity practices and collaboration with networking or security specialists.
• Experience with scripting, APIs, or automation tools for controls testing, integration, documentation, or troubleshooting.

Culture & Benefits

• Work across office, lab, construction, and live data center environments, including PPE, lockout/tagout, cyber hygiene, and change-control requirements.
• Provide time-sensitive support during commissioning, startup, vendor testing, cutovers, network changes, telemetry issues, automation failures, and operational events.
• Full-time employment with equity eligibility.
• OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.

Hiring process

• Background checks may be administered in accordance with applicable law for US-based candidates.