Role Overview

The Research Engineer / Research Scientist, Post-Training position at OpenAI represents a rare opportunity to work at the intersection of groundbreaking AI research and real-world product deployment. Based in San Francisco, California, this hybrid role (3 days in office) places you at the heart of OpenAI's mission to ensure general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity.

The Post-Training team specializes in taking pre-trained foundation models and transforming them into safe, efficient, and reliable systems ready for deployment in ChatGPT, the OpenAI API, and future products. You'll partner closely with research, product, and engineering teams to bridge the gap between theoretical advancements and practical applications serving millions of users daily.

This isn't academic research—it's product-driven research where your innovations directly enhance user experiences and business outcomes. With relocation assistance available, OpenAI is seeking passionate ML experts ready to tackle the most challenging problems in AI alignment, reinforcement learning, and model optimization.

Thrive in a dynamic environment where you'll own research agendas, build evaluation frameworks, and debug complex ML systems. This senior role demands deep technical expertise combined with the ability to collaborate across teams and deliver measurable improvements in model performance.

Key Responsibilities

As a Research Engineer / Research Scientist in Post-Training, you'll take ownership of critical initiatives that directly impact OpenAI's products:

• Own Research Agendas: Independently define and execute research directions to push model capabilities and performance boundaries, focusing on reinforcement learning and post-training techniques.
• Model Optimization: Develop novel improvements to pre-trained foundation models, ensuring they're production-ready for ChatGPT and API deployment.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Partner with research, product, and engineering teams to enable customers to optimize their own models through your innovations.
• Evaluation Framework Development: Design and implement robust evaluation systems to track and measure modeling improvements across safety, efficiency, and capability metrics.
• Full-Stack ML Engineering: Design, implement, test, and debug code throughout the research stack, from experimentation to production deployment.
• AI Safety & Reliability: Conduct rigorous testing to ensure models are safe, efficient, and reliable when deployed to millions of real-world users.
• Prototype Scaling: Transform research prototypes into scalable production systems that power OpenAI's core products.
• Performance Analysis: Deep-dive into model behaviors, identifying failure modes and optimization opportunities through systematic evaluation.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Document methodologies, results, and best practices to accelerate team progress and external impact.
• Stay Ahead of Research: Maintain expertise in latest advancements in RLHF, post-training, and alignment techniques to keep OpenAI at the forefront.
• Mentorship: Guide junior researchers and contribute to team technical leadership.
• Production Integration: Work with deployment teams to ensure research outputs seamlessly integrate into live systems.
• Experimentation Leadership: Design and execute large-scale experiments combining reinforcement learning with product requirements.

Qualifications

We're seeking senior ML professionals who combine deep research expertise with strong engineering skills:

• PhD or Master's in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, or related field with 3+ years of relevant experience
• Demonstrated expertise in reinforcement learning, particularly RLHF and post-training techniques
• Proven track record developing novel improvements to large-scale AI models
• Strong experience building comprehensive model evaluation frameworks and benchmarks
• Comfort debugging and optimizing large, complex ML codebases
• Expertise in Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, and modern ML infrastructure
• Experience collaborating across research, product, and engineering teams
• Passion for product-driven research that delivers real-world impact
• Ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-paced technical environments
• Excellent communication skills for documenting and presenting complex research
• Familiarity with AI safety, alignment, and deployment challenges
• Experience scaling research prototypes to production systems

Salary & Benefits

Salary Range: $285,000 - $425,000 USD per year (based on experience and qualifications), plus equity package.

OpenAI offers one of the most competitive compensation packages in AI:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision coverage
• Hybrid work model with 3 office days per week
• Relocation assistance package
• Generous 401(k) matching
• Unlimited PTO with manager approval
• Parental leave benefits
• Professional development budget
• Gym membership reimbursement
• Catered meals and office perks
• Mental health support programs
• Employee stock purchase opportunities
• Visa sponsorship available

Why Join OpenAI?

OpenAI isn't just another AI company—it's the organization pushing the boundaries of what's possible while prioritizing safety and human benefit. Your work here will:

• Impact Billions: Deploy models serving millions through ChatGPT and API
• Shape AI's Future: Conduct research that defines industry standards
• Work with Elite Talent: Collaborate with world-leading researchers
• Solve Hard Problems: Tackle the most challenging issues in AI alignment and deployment
• Grow Rapidly: Access unparalleled professional development opportunities

Based in San Francisco's vibrant tech ecosystem, you'll join a mission-driven culture that values diverse perspectives and bold innovation.

How to Apply

Ready to transform AI research into real-world impact? Submit your application including:

• Resume/CV highlighting relevant ML research and engineering experience
• Links to publications, GitHub, or relevant projects
• Cover letter explaining your passion for product-driven AI research

OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity. Background checks conducted per applicable law.

Applications reviewed on rolling basis. San Francisco, CA location required.