We are seeking highly capable generalist software engineers to join our Applied AI teams at OpenAI. In this role, you will work at the intersection of research, product, and infrastructure—building real-world AI systems that are used by millions of people and developers worldwide.
You will collaborate closely with researchers, product managers, designers, and other engineers to turn cutting-edge AI capabilities into reliable, scalable, and impactful products. This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy owning complex problems end-to-end, moving fluidly across the stack, and learning whatever is necessary to deliver high-quality outcomes.
If you are motivated by building systems that push the boundaries of what software can do—and want your work to meaningfully shape how AI is deployed responsibly at global scale—this role offers a uniquely challenging and rewarding opportunity.
What You'll Do
• Design, build, and maintain production systems that power AI-driven products and experiences
• Develop full-stack features, APIs, and internal tools to support applied research and customer-facing use cases
• Partner closely with research teams to operationalize new model capabilities and rapidly iterate from prototype to production
• Build scalable, reliable services that support high-throughput, low-latency AI workloads
• Optimize systems for performance, cost, reliability, and security at scale
• Own projects end-to-end—from initial design through deployment, monitoring, and ongoing iteration
• Help shape technical direction, engineering best practices, and product roadmaps as the platform evolves
We're seeking engineers who bring strong fundamentals, adaptability, and a builder mindset. Ideal candidates typically have:
• 7+ years of professional experience as a software engineer (flexible for exceptional candidates)
• Strong engineering fundamentals, including system design, data structures, and debugging complex systems
• Experience building and maintaining production services or user-facing products at scale
• Comfort working across the stack (backend, frontend, APIs, infrastructure) or willingness to learn new areas quickly
• Experience collaborating in fast-moving, highly cross-functional environments
• A strong sense of ownership and the ability to operate with ambiguity
