Datacenter Networking Technician

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead technician during campus builds, partnering with engineers and contractors on design reviews and installation plans.
• Perform hands-on data center floor work, including inspections, cable routing, termination, and fiber testing (OTDR, power levels, continuity).
• Troubleshoot and optimize cabling routes, patching, and equipment turn-up to ensure reliable handoff to network operations.
• Contribute to design discussions for structured cabling and physical network layouts.
• Develop repeatable engineering standards, as-built documentation, and deployment playbooks for future OpenAI campuses.
• Transition into deployment leadership for upcoming expansions, owning the physical-layer deployment from design through commissioning.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in large-scale datacenter network deployment, structured cabling, or physical-layer installation.
• Deep knowledge of fiber/copper plant design, cabling standards, and hyperscale network best practices.
• Ability to work onsite in Abilene, Texas, 5 days per week.
• Strong communication skills to collaborate with construction, engineering, and operations teams.
• Willingness to travel to future OpenAI data center projects.

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure to automation tools (Ansible, SaltStack) or scripting (Python, Shell).
• Experience with hyperscale Clos fabrics or large-scale network design.
• Familiarity with routing and switching concepts (BGP, OSPF, EVPN/VXLAN) and basic Linux troubleshooting.
• Industry certifications such as BICSI, CCNA/CCNP, or equivalent.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match.
• Paid parental leave and flexible PTO.
• Annual learning and development stipend.
• Relocation support for eligible employees.
• Generous equity and performance-related bonuses.

About the Company

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. Through our Stargate program, we are building the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem, designing for scale, speed, and reliability.