Suggested rewrite: Led a cross-functional initiative that improved [business outcome] by [measurable result], demonstrating experience relevant to this role...
Land Development & Due Diligence Lead
Review the role, location requirements, compensation details, and application process before deciding whether this opportunity fits your next career move.
- Remote from
- USA
- Salary
- USD 199k–327k / yr
- Department
- Project & Program Management
- Employment
- Full Time
- Experience
- Director
- Published
- Apply before
- 30 Nov 2026
- Listing views
- 50
- Application actions
- 3
Make your next move.
Prepare your resume, explore your fit, and draft a cover letter for this opportunity.
The role, at a glance.
OpenAI is seeking a senior land-development lead to assess powered-land opportunities for AI infrastructure and data-center development. The role leads technical diligence across civil, geotechnical, environmental, title, access, permitting, and entitlement matters. It manages external consultants, develops risk-mitigation strategies, and delivers site go/no-go recommendations. The lead will create scalable diligence playbooks, monitor program KPIs, and regularly brief executive stakeholders on readiness, risks, and milestones.
Role DNA
A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.
Pace & Pressure
4/5Autonomy Level
5/5Communication Load
5/5Salary analysis
Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles.
Core skills
Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity.
Sample interview questions
I start with a standardized diligence checklist covering title and access, utilities, zoning and entitlements, geotechnical conditions, environmental constraints, floodplain exposure, and permitting. I assign owners and decision dates, quantify each issue’s cost and schedule impact, and present a concise go/no-go recommendation with practical mitigation options.
I would identify the applicable air-quality authority, emissions thresholds, fuel assumptions, and permitting pathway early. I would engage an air-permitting consultant to model emissions and confirm agency timelines, then incorporate required controls, community considerations, and approval risk into the development schedule and financial model.
I bring the consultants together around a common site plan, schedule, and set of design assumptions. I distinguish factual conflicts from design tradeoffs, request targeted follow-up analysis where needed, and document the preferred mitigation path, residual risk, cost, and decision owner.
I use an executive-ready dashboard that identifies the critical path, risk severity, probability, mitigation status, decision deadlines, and financial or schedule exposure. I focus the discussion on decisions required, alternatives available, and the consequences of delay rather than overwhelming stakeholders with technical detail.
I would codify repeatable workflows, document requirements, consultant scopes, acceptance criteria, risk registers, and stage-gate decisions. I would then track cycle time, recurring issues, quality of consultant outputs, and forecast accuracy to improve the playbook continuously.
About this role.
About the Team
OpenAI is building the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure ecosystem. The Site Readiness & Development team owns the upstream diligence and development work required to convert powered-land opportunities into executable infrastructure options.
About the Role
Responsible for validating that proposed sites are buildable, compliant, and cost-effective. You will lead diligence across civil, geotechnical, environmental, and entitlement dimensions, identifying risks and driving mitigation strategies.
Key Responsibilities
Lead all technical diligence: geotech, soils, title/ALTA surveys, mineral rights, and access.
Oversee permitting/entitlement path and schedule governance with agencies.
Evaluate generator air permits, wetlands, floodplain, and stormwater constraints.
Manage consultants performing feasibility studies and environmental assessments.
Deliver go/no-go recommendations with risk and mitigation options.
Build diligence templates and playbooks to scale future site reviews.
Qualifications
8+ years in land development, civil/environmental engineering, or data center diligence.
Knowledge of permitting, entitlements, and AHJ engagement.
Strong project management and technical review skills.
Experience managing consultants and interpreting complex studies.
Regularly communicate site readiness updates, risks, and milestones to executive stakeholders.
Establish and track key performance indicators to assess the effectiveness of the site selection program and the contributions of external vendors and partners.
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.
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 unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.
OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy
At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.
This job listing has been manually reviewed by the Jobicy Trust & Safety Team for compliance with our posting guidelines, including verification of the company's legitimacy, accuracy of job details, clarity of remote work policy, and absence of misleading or fraudulent content.
Apply now.
Follow the employer’s application method and review Jobicy’s safety guidance before sharing personal information.
Continue on the employer website
Protect your personal information and never pay to secure an interview or job offer. .
