OpenAI· Hardware· San Francisco and Seattle
Tokens-as-a-Service (TaaS) Lead
Comp$266K – $455K
Classified Tasks (18)
Automate 0%Augment 61%Human-Only 39%
Augment (11)
AI assists, human decides
Manage execution of complex compute programs to transform raw infrastructure capacity into operational GPU throughput.
operational
Develop and maintain integrated execution plans covering construction, power energization, rack deployment, networking, cluster readiness, and workload onboarding.
operational
Manage networking setup and cluster bring-up to ensure connectivity and cluster readiness.
technical
Coordinate workload onboarding to validate token throughput and utilization.
analytical
Identify bottlenecks between physical delivery and usable compute output and lead cross-functional resolution efforts.
analytical
Establish operating cadences to monitor program execution and drive timely decision-making.
leadership
Build and maintain dashboards tracking capacity, throughput, and program progress.
analytical
Produce forecasts of token capacity and program delivery timelines.
analytical
Prepare executive reporting on TaaS program status, risks, and outcomes.
communication
Develop repeatable deployment models and playbooks for future industrial compute expansion.
operational
Translate physical infrastructure delivery metrics into business outcomes for compute utilization.
analytical
Human-Only (7)
Requires human judgment
Lead Tokens-as-a-Service programs across industrial compute environments, including first-party and partner-owned capacity.
leadership
Coordinate data center delivery, power, networking, hardware deployment, workload enablement, finance, and external partners to convert infrastructure into productive tokens.
operational
Coordinate power energization activities with utilities and on-site teams to enable compute capacity.
operational
Oversee rack deployment and hardware installation to achieve production-ready clusters.
technical
Drive external providers, EPCs, OEMs, utilities, and strategic partners to meet aggressive deployment timelines.
leadership
Partner with infrastructure engineering, hardware, networking, finance, supply chain, and operations teams to align on delivery and utilization objectives.
communication
Drive accountability across internal teams and strategic partners to ensure program milestones are met.
leadership
Job description
Tokens-as-a-Service (TaaS) Lead | OpenAI Careers ## Tokens-as-a-Service (TaaS) Lead Hardware - San Francisco and Seattle Apply now(opens in a new window) **About the Team** OpenAI’s Industrial Compute team is responsible for building and scaling large-scale compute capacity across first-party data centers, strategic partners, and industrial infrastructure environments. We focus on converting power, land, hardware, and operational execution into reliable compute capacity that can support frontier AI training and inference workloads. This team operates at the intersection of infrastructure delivery, hardware systems, utilities, supply chain, and capacity strategy—ensuring OpenAI can scale compute faster than traditional models allow. **About the Role** We are seeking a Tokens-as-a-Service (TaaS) Lead to drive the end-to-end conversion of industrial-scale infrastructure investments into usable token capacity for OpenAI workloads. In this role, you will own execution across complex compute programs where raw infrastructure capacity must be transformed into operational GPU throughput. You will coordinate across data center delivery, power, networking, hardware deployment, workload enablement, finance, and external partners to ensure capacity becomes productive tokens as quickly and efficiently as possible. This role is ideal for someone who can bridge physical infrastructure delivery with compute utilization outcomes. Success requires strong systems thinking, elite program leadership, and the ability to drive accountability across internal teams and strategic partners. **In this role, you will** * Lead Tokens-as-a-Service programs across industrial compute environments, including first-party and partner-owned capacity. * Convert delivered power, space, and hardware capacity into production-ready token throughput. * Build integrated execution plans spanning construction, power energization, rack deployment, networking, cluster readiness, and workload onboarding. * Partner with infrastructure engineering, hardware, networking, finance, supply chain, and operations teams. * Drive external providers, EPCs, OEMs, utilities, and strategic partners toward aggressive timelines. * Identify bottlenecks between physical delivery and usable compute output, then lead resolution. * Build operating cadences, dashboards, forecasts, and executive reporting for TaaS programs. * Develop repeatable deployment models for future industrial compute expansion. **You might thrive in this role if you** * Have led hyperscale infrastructure, data center, manufacturing, or industrial deployment programs. * Understand how power + hardware + networking + software combine into usable compute. * Can operate equally well with engineers, operators, executives, and external partners. * Are highly structured in ambiguous, fast-moving environments. * Know how to escalate intelligently and maintain momentum under pressure. * Can translate technical execution into business outcomes. **Preferred Skills** * Experience with GPU clusters, AI infrastructure, hyperscale data centers, or industrial technology programs. * Background in program management, operations leadership, capacity delivery, or strategic infrastructure execution. * Familiarity with utilities, construction, commissioning, networking, hardware deployment, or cluster bring-up. * Experience managing multi-billion-dollar infrastructure or capacity programs. * Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills. **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 an