The Open Compute Project (OCP) Foundation is pleased to announce that the Call for Nominations is now open for individuals interested in serving as a Steering Committee (SC) Representative. This is a unique leadership opportunity for community members who want to play an active role in guiding the direction of open hardware innovation and strengthening collaboration across the OCP ecosystem.
What is the Steering Committee?
The Steering Committee is made up of volunteer thought leaders from across OCP’s top-level Projects, along with the SC Co-Chairs. Each top-level project community elects one representative to serve a two-year term, providing consistent leadership and helping ensure the community’s needs and priorities are represented.
Beyond governance, the Steering Committee acts as a strategic backbone for OCP—working to identify emerging technology challenges, elevate community contributions, and amplify OCP’s presence globally.
You can learn more about the role and expectations for Steering Committee representatives by going through a brief e-learning module in the new OCP Academy here.
Why Volunteer?
Volunteering for the Steering Committee is more than a formal role—it’s an opportunity to meaningfully shape the direction of the OCP, influence industry priorities, and support a global community committed to openness and collaboration. SC representatives often find that the role brings substantial personal and professional benefits, including:
Professional visibility: Serving on the SC signals leadership within your organization and across the industry, opening doors to new partnerships and influence.
Impact at scale: Your insights directly contribute to the strategic roadmap and technical direction of OCP, helping steer the technologies that power hyperscale data centers, AI infrastructure, and emerging compute platforms.
Expanded network: SC representatives work alongside experts from across the ecosystem—cloud providers, hardware innovators, integrators, and end users—building relationships that last well beyond the term.
Community contribution: OCP thrives because of volunteer leadership. SC representatives help uphold the quality of contributions, nurture collaboration, and ensure that the community’s voice drives the evolution of the industry.
Serving on the Steering Committee is a meaningful way to influence the direction of open hardware, contribute to community growth, and support OCP’s mission of open, efficient, scalable computing.
Steering Committee Mission
The high-level goals of the SC include:
Identifying industry problem sets beyond the scope of current OCP projects to drive new areas of collaboration and standardization.
Helping to define the Strategic Roadmap for OCP projects, ensuring alignment with industry trends and community priorities.
Creating awareness of OCP outside the immediate community by serving as advocates, ambassadors, and champions within their organizations and broader ecosystems. OCP relies on our volunteer leadership for community growth and spreading awareness.
Reviewing and voting on contributions submitted by members of the OCP Community, ensuring quality and value across all project areas.
Eligibility
To be nominated as a Steering Committee Representative, an individual must belong to an OCP Silver, Gold, or Platinum Member organization. Individual or Community Level Members are not eligible to serve on the SC. Nominees for SC roles should already be active members of the OCP Community to understand the breadth of responsibility associated with the role.
Roles and Responsibilities
Steering Committee Representatives are expected to be active, engaged participants in community leadership. Responsibilities include:
Attending all SC meetings (held the first Thursday of every month, approximately 2 hours).
Reviewing and providing feedback on OCP contributions.
Voting on all submissions that come before the committee.
Providing input into the OCP Strategic Initiatives.
Participating in project and sub-project calls, workshops, and OCP events.
Representing OCP at industry conferences and speaking on behalf of your project community where appropriate.
Acting as a liaison—communicating your project community’s needs to the SC, the Foundation, your organization, and other communities to support cross-collaboration.
Nomination Process
The Call for Nominations will remain open until January 9th, 2026 at 5:00 PM Pacific Time.
You may nominate yourself or another qualified individual using the form linked below. Please send any questions to [email protected]. After the submission period, OCP staff will contact nominees to confirm eligibility and willingness to run.
Nomination Form – click here
Voting Process
After nominations close, OCP will publish the full list of eligible candidates and notify member companies. Voting will begin the week of January 12th, 2026.
Only Silver, Gold, and Platinum OCP Member Organizations may vote. Voting keys will be provided to the membership point of contact for each organization.
Vote allocations per election are as follows:
Silver Member Organizations: 1 vote
Gold Member Organizations: 2 votes
Platinum Member Organizations: 3 votes
Timeline
December 5th, 2025 – Call for Nominations Opens
January 12th, 2026 – Call for Nominations Closes
January 19th, 2026 – Voting Phase Starts
February 6th, 2026 – Voting Phase Ends
Questions?
For any additional information or clarification, please reach out to Michael Schill or email elections@opencompute.org.