About this role
Professionals who thrive in complex stakeholder environments and enjoy shaping large-scale infrastructure strategies will find a natural fit in this position. The Site Readiness and Development team at OpenAI builds the advanced infrastructure ecosystem necessary to support powerful artificial intelligence systems by managing upstream diligence and land conversion.
Operating across the national pipeline, the Economic Development Lead engages prior to public announcements to shape incentive structures, community benefits, and approval pathways. Responsibilities include negotiating economic packages, managing regional relationships, and coordinating closely with legal, finance, land, and power teams. Once projects mature toward announcement, ownership of local relations transitions to dedicated community leads while agreement commitments remain supported.
Candidates should possess extensive experience in economic development or public-private partnerships, paired with the judgment to navigate regulatory environments and project economics. The ideal person brings strong negotiation skills and an ability to foresee political and commercial risks before they impact execution.
What you will do
- Manage the end-to-end incentive strategy and lead complex negotiations for new sites.
- Establish and nurture relationships with local and state economic development stakeholders.
- Formulate community-benefit commitments that align directly with project agreements.
- Collaborate across internal functions including Site Selection, Land, Power, Legal, Finance, and Community Engagement.
- Spot potential political, commercial, and approval risks early in the evaluation process.
- Hand off local relationships to assigned community engagement leads as projects approach public announcements.
What you need
- Bring over six years of professional background in economic development, public-private partnerships, infrastructure development, or government affairs.
- Demonstrate hands-on experience structuring and negotiating incentive packages for large real estate, energy, technology, or infrastructure projects.
- Maintain established relationships and sound judgment across regional, state, and local economic development stakeholders.
- Connect project economics, approval risks, incentives, and legal commitments effectively.
- Exhibit strong cross-functional coordination, negotiation, and executive communication capabilities.
Benefits
- Offers Equity
Questions candidates ask
Where is this job located?
The position is listed as US - Remote.
What is the salary range for this role?
The salary ranges from $176K to $285K and includes equity offers.
What team does this role belong to?
The role sits within the Site Readiness & Development team, which handles upstream diligence and development work to convert powered-land opportunities into executable infrastructure options.
What happens after a project moves toward announcement?
Once a project moves toward announcement, a dedicated Community Engagement Lead becomes the local owner while the Economic Development Lead continues supporting agreement-linked commitments and incentive execution.