Role Overview

Identity is the cornerstone of trust in AI. Our Identity Platform team builds the secure account layer connecting people, enterprises, developers, and AI agents across OpenAI's ecosystem. This senior engineering role offers the chance to own critical infrastructure spanning our entire product suite.

Reporting to Identity Platform leadership, you'll lead architectural initiatives for next-generation identity features like Agent Identity and Sign In With ChatGPT. Your systems will handle consumer internet scale while solving complex enterprise requirements simultaneously.

This role demands deep expertise in authentication protocols (OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML), distributed systems, and security engineering. You'll collaborate with product teams building ChatGPT Team, Enterprise offerings, and developer platforms while mentoring engineers across the organization.

OpenAI's identity systems power billions of API calls monthly and serve millions of active users. Reliability, security, and seamless user experience remain non-negotiable requirements for every system you build.

Key Responsibilities

1. Architect next-generation identity platform supporting Agent Identity, enterprise federation, and social login flows
2. Design and implement scalable authentication systems handling 100M+ monthly active users
3. Build authorization frameworks supporting fine-grained access control across OpenAI products
4. Develop account management systems for individuals, teams, and enterprise organizations
5. Create internal APIs and SDKs enabling product teams to integrate seamlessly with identity services
6. Lead scalability initiatives resolving production bottlenecks under extreme load
7. Mentor engineers on identity best practices, security patterns, and system design
8. Collaborate with product managers defining requirements for ChatGPT Team and Enterprise features
9. Drive security reviews and threat modeling for all identity surface area
10. Implement monitoring, alerting, and observability for mission-critical identity infrastructure
11. Contribute to protocol evolution including custom OpenID Connect extensions
12. Lead on-call rotations ensuring 99.99%+ uptime for authentication services
13. Partner with compliance teams meeting SOC2, GDPR, and enterprise security requirements

Qualifications

Technical Expertise: 7+ years building production identity systems at consumer scale. Deep knowledge of OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML 2.0, JWTs, and modern authentication patterns.

Systems Experience: Proven track record designing distributed systems handling extreme scale. Experience with service meshes, API gateways, and zero-trust architectures.

Security Mindset: Strong understanding of OWASP Top 10, session management, CSRF protection, and identity threat models. Experience implementing production PKI and certificate management.

Engineering Leadership: History of owning large technical scope, mentoring teams, and driving architectural decisions. Comfortable with both strategic planning and hands-on implementation.

Product Sense: Ability to balance security requirements with seamless user experience. Experience partnering with PMs and designers shipping consumer-facing identity flows.

Stack Experience: Python, Go, or similar. AWS/GCP experience with Kubernetes, RDS, Redis. Familiarity with identity tools like Auth0, Okta, or custom solutions.

Salary & Benefits

Competitive Compensation: Total compensation range of $320K-$450K+ including base salary, equity, and bonus. Exact compensation determined by experience and location.

Comprehensive Benefits:

• Top-tier medical, dental, vision coverage
• 401(k) with 4%+ company match
• Unlimited PTO policy
• $1,000+ annual learning stipend
• Fitness reimbursement up to $100/month
• Generous parental leave (16+ weeks)
• Commuter benefits and free lunches
• Stock options in market-leading AI company

OpenAI offers relocation assistance for exceptional candidates and visa sponsorship when applicable.

Why Join OpenAI?

Mission Impact: Build identity systems powering the world's most advanced AI products. Your work enables safe, personalized AI experiences at global scale.

Technical Challenge: Solve unprecedented scaling problems combining consumer internet growth with enterprise security requirements. Work on greenfield projects defining AI identity standards.

Career Growth: Rapid promotion paths for high performers. Direct access to OpenAI leadership and technical decision-making. Generous learning budget and conference sponsorship.

Team Culture: Collaborative environment valuing ownership, curiosity, and impact. Regular team offsites, hackathons, and cross-team knowledge sharing.

San Francisco Location: Prime SoMa location near Caltrain with modern office, gym, and catered meals. Hybrid work model balancing collaboration and flexibility.

How to Apply

Application Process:

1. Submit resume and GitHub/portfolio (if applicable)
2. 30-minute recruiter screen
3. Technical screen (system design + coding)
4. Full-loop interviews (4-5 rounds including cross-team collaboration)
5. Team match and leadership conversations
6. Offer extended within 1-2 weeks

What We Look For: Engineers who combine deep identity expertise with product curiosity and ownership mindset. Show us complex systems you've built and scaled in production.

Apply now to shape the future of AI identity. OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity.