# Controls Engineer, Power Generation and Microgird at Openai

> Design, program, and commission power generation and microgrid control systems for large AI data center campuses.

- Company: Openai (openai.com)
- Location: San Francisco
- Places: San Francisco, United States
- Posted: 2026-11-06
- Team: Data Center Engineering
- Travel: 50%
- Apply: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/openai/554a6565-0c9a-42e8-8f6f-a22ba23f336b
- Page: https://ye.saranatour.dev/jobs/controls-engineer-power-generation-and-microgird-openai-kn7bpfdkteeg8xs3mc0sw78ytd8hrrbr

## The posting

Controls Engineer, Power Generation and Microgird
Openai · San Francisco

**About the Team**

OpenAI, in close collaboration with our capital and delivery partners, is building the infrastructure required to support frontier AI systems. The Data Center Engineering team defines repeatable technical standards and carries them through design, construction, commissioning, and operational readiness. The team works across data center facilities, power generation, compute infrastructure, construction, procurement, and operations to deliver reliable capacity at unprecedented scale and speed.

**About the Role**

We are seeking a Controls Engineer to design, program, integrate and commission on-site power generation and microgrid control systems serving large AI data center campuses. You will own control architecture and functional requirements across generation packages, balance-of-plant systems, electrical protection, microgrid controls, and data center monitoring. You will work from concept through factory testing, site commissioning, performance validation, and operational improvement.

This role requires hands-on experience with industrial control systems, including PLC and DCS programming, plant-level control sequences, equipment integration, simulation, testing and commissioning. The engineers will work with equipment vendors, system integrators and the broader data center team to make sure the complete power system operates safely and reliably across normal and failure conditions.

**Travel:**50%

**Key Responsibilities**

- Power Generation and Microgrid Controls
 - Design, program and commission plant power controllers (PPCs) and microgrid control systems for gas turbine and reciprocating engine power plants.
 - Develop control sequences for grid-connected, islanded and transition modes, including startup, shutdown, synchronization, load sharing, import/export control, load shedding, black start, restoration and resynchronization.
 - Coordinate active power, reactive power, voltage and frequency controls across generators, energy storage, MV UPS and other distributed energy resources.
 - Define how the plant responds to generator trips, loss of utility power, large load changes, equipment failures and loss of communication.
 - Work with OEMs to define the boundaries between turbine or engine controls, generator controls, the PPC, protection systems and data center controls.
- Electrical systems and utility interconnection
 - Review utility and transmission-provider interconnection requirements and translate them into plant control, protection, metering, communications and testing requirements.
 - Work with utility and equipment vendors to define controls and interfaces at the point of interconnection, including power limits, voltage and frequency response, reactive, power factor, telemetry and dispatch.
 - Review interconnection studies, operating procedures and test requirements, and track the actions needed to demonstrate compliance.
 - Work with Engineer-Of-Record (EOR) to review load-flow, short-circuit, stability, step-load and electromagnetic transient (EMT) studies. Use the results to develop control settings, sequences and test cases.
- Control Architecture:
 - Develop and review functional design specifications (FDS), sequences of operation, network architecture diagrams, I/O lists and alarm philosophies.
 - Review P&IDs and instrumentation for generation-plant systems, including fuel gas, cooling, lubrication and other balanc