Controls Engineer, Power Generation (AI Infrastructure)

Location: San Francisco, United States. Travel: 50%

Salary: $257K–$327K plus equity

Company

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company building products and infrastructure for safely deploying general-purpose artificial intelligence.

What you will do

• Design control-system architecture, functional specifications, operating sequences, cause-and-effect matrices, alarm philosophy, and interface requirements for on-site power generation.
• Integrate OEM controls, PLCs, DCS, SCADA, historians, microgrid controllers, protection systems, and data center BMS or EPMS platforms.
• Develop and review I/O lists, network architecture, control narratives, graphics, alarm limits, interlocks, permissives, and fail-safe behavior.
• Coordinate synchronization, load sharing, islanding, black start, load shedding, restoration, and generation-to-data-center operating modes.
• Lead or support software reviews, simulator testing, factory and site acceptance testing, commissioning, tuning, and performance validation.
• Troubleshoot control-system and plant-performance issues, evaluate cybersecurity and redundancy, and convert findings into corrective actions and reusable standards while coordinating with electrical, mechanical, IT, security, operations, OEM, EPC, and data center controls teams.

Requirements

• 8+ years of controls, automation, or instrumentation engineering experience in power generation, industrial plants, utilities, or mission-critical infrastructure.
• Strong experience with PLC, DCS, SCADA, historian, industrial networking, and control-system integration.
• Knowledge of generation controls, synchronization, load sharing, protective interfaces, process control, and safety interlocks.
• Experience developing functional specifications, sequences, I/O, alarms, graphics, and factory or site test procedures.
• Ability to troubleshoot across software, instrumentation, electrical, mechanical, communications, and operating-process boundaries.
• Understanding of industrial cybersecurity, redundancy, failover, and change-control practices.
• Bachelor’s degree in controls, electrical, mechanical, chemical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field.

Nice to have

• Experience with major turbine or reciprocating-engine control platforms and microgrid controllers.
• Experience with IEC 61850, Modbus, OPC UA, DNP3, EtherNet/IP, or comparable industrial protocols.
• Experience integrating generation controls with BMS, EPMS, DCIM, or utility systems.
• Professional Engineer license, functional-safety training, or industrial-cybersecurity certification.

Culture & Benefits

• Work on infrastructure supporting frontier AI systems and large-scale data center campuses.
• Full-time employment with equity.
• Equal opportunity employment with reasonable accommodations available for applicants with disabilities.
• Background checks are administered in accordance with applicable law, including fair-chance requirements for US-based candidates.