We’re looking for engineers who combine strong technical and analytical skills with product judgment and the ability to move between rapid prototyping and reliable production systems. You should be comfortable working with ambiguous problems, complex data, and evolving AI capabilities—and excited to build tools that expand what human experts can understand and accomplish.
This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.
In this role, you will
7+ years of experience as a software engineer
Build intelligence systems that monitor and characterize emerging risks, synthesize internal and external signals, and give OpenAI leadership a timely, decision-ready view of what matters
Develop investigative tools that help analysts, investigators, and subject matter experts assess potential high-severity misuse or harm with greater speed, depth, and consistency
Own technical solutions end to end, from identifying user needs and prototyping new capabilities to deploying, maintaining, and improving production systems
Apply OpenAI’s models to research and investigative workflows, including lead generation, triage, synthesis, and analysis across large, complex datasets
Design effective interfaces and workflows that help expert users explore evidence, follow leads, and make well-informed decisions
Shape the team’s technical and product direction as model capabilities, risk landscapes, and investigative needs evolve
Collaborate closely with analysts and investigators, as well as partners across Applied, Safety Systems, Research, User Operations, and Strategy
You might thrive in this role if you have / are
4+ years of experience as a software engineer
Experience designing, building, and operating production software, ideally for intelligence, investigations, security, research, or other complex analytical workflows.
A track record of owning products or systems end to end and translating ambiguous, high-stakes problems into useful tools.
Strong programming and data skills, including experience working with Python, SQL, and large or unstructured datasets.
Sound product and technical judgment, with the ability to partner closely with expert users and work effectively across functions.
Excitement about using increasingly capable AI systems to expand human situational awareness and accelerate expert investigation.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement https://cdn.openai.com/policies/eeo-policy-statement.pdf.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form https://form.asana.com/?d=57018692298241&k=5MqR40fZd7jlxVUh5J-UeA. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link https://form.asana.com/?k=bQ7w9h3iexRlicUdWRiwvg&d=57018692298241.
OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy https://cdn.openai.com/policies/global-employee-and-contractor-privacy-policy.pdf
At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.
