Workforce Development & Education Manager, Infrastructure Sites

About the Role At OpenAI, we are proud to build and operate our data centers with a community-first led approach. From construction to operations, we want to be positive partners within our data center communities that we are honored to call home…and we are just getting started. OpenAI is seeking a Workforce Development & Education Manager to help build local talent for data center construction, commissioning, and operations in communities hosting OpenAI infrastructure projects. You will work with infrastructure teams and project partners, education providers, and local Community Engagement Leads to understand workforce needs and help education and training providers prepare people for these jobs of the future. You will build partnerships with local community colleges, technical schools, universities, and union apprenticeship programs from the ground up. Working with educators and technical experts, you will develop and expand training programs that connect local residents with career opportunities and meet the local industry hiring needs. Key Responsibilities - Work in partnership with the local Community Engagement Lead to build and manage relationships with community colleges, technical schools, universities, career and technical education programs, and local workforce boards. - Work with building trades unions and joint apprenticeship and training committees to expand training opportunities aligned with project needs both on a local and national level. - Partner with OpenAI’s infrastructure teams, developers, contractors, and operators to identify job requirements, skills gaps, and hiring timelines across construction, commissioning, and operations. - Work with educators and technical experts to develop or adapt curricula, hands-on training, and credential programs that reflect employer requirements and offerings available through OpenAI’s literacy programs. - Support apprenticeships, internships, and other work-based learning opportunities with participating employers. - Manage program implementation, including timelines, partner responsibilities, and progress against agreed goals. - Track participation, completion, credential attainment, job placement, and retention, working with partners to use the results to improve programs. - Partner with the local Community Engagement Lead to identify workforce grants and other funding opportunities, and help education and training partners pursue relevant support. - Represent OpenAI on local workforce advisory councils and in meetings with education, labor, and community partners, in partnership with the Community Engagement Lead. - Manage the program operations and administrative tasks needed to run a successful workforce development program within our data center communities. Qualifications - Seven or more years of experience in workforce development, technical education, apprenticeship programs, or education–industry partnerships. - Bachelor’s degree in education, instructional design, workforce development, engineering technology, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. - Experience developing and delivering technical training programs with employers and education providers. - Experience working with trade unions, apprenticeship programs, and labor leaders. - Ability to work with technical experts to translate job requirements into clear learning objectives and practical training. - Experience managing programs with multiple partners, competing priorities, and defined deadlines. - Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience working with educators, public officials, labor representatives, and technical leaders. - Experience evaluating program outcomes and using findings to improve delivery. - Experience in operating with ambiguity and building successful programs from the ground up, with responsible scalability in mind. Preferred Skills - Experience in data centers, telecommunications, semiconductor manufacturing, energy, or other industries with substantial technical workforce needs. - Familiarity with training and credentials relevant to data center careers, such as OSHA 30-hour and NFPA 70E safety training, Schneider Electric DCCA, BICSI cabling credentials, CompTIA certifications, and EPA Section 608 certification for refrigerant work. - Experience with workforce funding sources, including Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs, apprenticeship grants, and state workforce or community college grants. - Experience helping local residents enter skilled trades and technical careers through community-based education and training partnerships. 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 https://cdn.openai.com/policies/eeo-policy-statement.pdf. 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 uninco