- Job type
- Full-time
- Work mode
- Remote
- Level
- Lead
- Department
- Business Development
- Experience
- 6+ years experience
- Posted
- Sep 8, 2026
About the 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
The Economic Development Lead works upstream across the national pipeline, beginning engagement before a project is public and helping shape the incentive, relationship, community-benefit, and approval strategy for sites under evaluation. This role enters early during site evaluation and deal formation; once a project moves toward announcement, the dedicated Community Engagement Lead becomes the local owner while the Economic Development Lead continues to support agreement-linked commitments and incentive execution.
Key Responsibilities
- Own incentive strategy and negotiations.
- Build local and state economic-development relationships.
- Develop community-benefit commitments tied to project agreements.
- Coordinate with Site Selection, Land, Power, Legal, Finance, and Community Engagement.
- Identify political, commercial, and approval risks early.
- Transition local relationships and commitments to the assigned Community Engagement Lead as a project moves toward announcement.
Qualifications
- 6+ years in economic development, public-private partnerships, infrastructure development, government affairs, or a related field.
- Experience structuring and negotiating incentive packages for large infrastructure, energy, technology, or real estate projects.
- Strong relationships and judgment across local, state, and regional economic-development stakeholders.
- Ability to connect incentives, community benefits, legal commitments, project economics, and approval risk.
- Excellent cross-functional coordination, negotiation, and executive-communication skills.