Role Overview

The Applied AI team at OpenAI is responsible for safely deploying groundbreaking technologies including ChatGPT, DALL·E, GPT-4 APIs, and massive-scale inference infrastructure. As a Software Engineer on the Engineering Acceleration team, you'll design and build foundational systems that power developer productivity across the organization.

This fast-growing team offers ownership of strategy, vision, and execution for tools that eliminate engineering toil, accelerate velocity, and leverage OpenAI's latest AI capabilities to create the most productive engineering organization in the industry. Operating at the heart of Kubernetes clusters managing thousands of GPU nodes, you'll work with cutting-edge technologies like Terraform, Buildkite, Postgres, Cosmos DB, Kafka, Python, and FastAPI.

Based exclusively at OpenAI's San Francisco HQ with relocation assistance, this role combines deep technical challenges with mission-critical impact on AI safety and deployment. You'll collaborate across teams to understand workflows, eliminate bottlenecks, and ensure scalable, observable systems while participating in on-call for reliability.

Ideal candidates bring 5+ years of engineering experience including 3+ years in developer tooling, empathy for engineering pain points, rapid learning ability, and comfort with ambiguity. If you thrive in high-stakes environments building infrastructure that scales to serve millions, this is your opportunity to shape OpenAI's engineering future.

Key Responsibilities

In this pivotal role, you'll own the full lifecycle of developer productivity systems:

• Architect and implement tools, systems, and processes that dramatically accelerate engineering velocity while reducing manual toil
• Pioneer AI-powered workflows using OpenAI's latest models to redefine productivity benchmarks
• Partner cross-functionally to deeply understand team challenges and translate them into scalable solutions
• Build technical foundations enabling rapid deployment of new AI research capabilities and features
• Mentor product engineering teams on observability, scalability, and reliability best practices
• Maintain production system reliability through on-call participation and proactive incident prevention
• Define and execute the strategic roadmap for OpenAI's Engineering Acceleration function
• Optimize large-scale GPU inference infrastructure across multi-region Kubernetes deployments
• Automate CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure provisioning using modern DevOps practices
• Drive cultural change by eliminating repetitive tasks and preventing engineering burnout
• Integrate advanced monitoring and observability into developer workflows
• Scale systems to support OpenAI's explosive growth in API usage and ChatGPT adoption
• Champion developer experience improvements across the entire engineering organization

Qualifications

We're seeking senior engineers who combine deep technical expertise with genuine passion for developer experience:

• 5+ years software engineering experience, including 3+ years building developer infrastructure/tools
• Proven track record eliminating engineering toil and accelerating team velocity
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes at scale, preferably GPU workloads
• Expertise in infrastructure-as-code (Terraform) and modern CI/CD (Buildkite or equivalent)
• Strong backend systems experience (Python/FastAPI, Postgres, Kafka, Cosmos DB)
• Experience designing observable, scalable distributed systems
• Demonstrated empathy for developer pain points and workflow frustrations
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, rapidly-evolving environments
• Exceptional communication skills for technical mentorship and cross-team collaboration
• Proven ability to learn rapidly and share knowledge effectively
• Experience with production on-call and incident response
• Passion for AI safety and responsible deployment at scale

Salary & Benefits

OpenAI offers competitive compensation for senior Software Engineers in Developer Productivity:

Estimated Total Compensation: $250,000 - $450,000 USD (base salary + equity + benefits)

Comprehensive Benefits Package:

• Industry-leading health, dental, vision coverage
• 401(k) with generous company match
• Unlimited PTO with wellness days
• Parental leave and family planning benefits
• Relocation package to San Francisco
• Daily catered meals and snacks
• Onsite fitness center and wellness programs
• Professional development stipend
• Early access to OpenAI products and research
• Equity in the company shaping humanity's future

Actual compensation varies based on experience, location, and equity allocation.

Why Join OpenAI?

OpenAI isn't just building AI products—we're creating the infrastructure that safely deploys artificial general intelligence to the world. Your work directly impacts ChatGPT's 100M+ users and powers APIs transforming every industry.

Join a mission-driven team prioritizing safety above growth, working with the smartest engineers on the planet, using the most advanced AI tools available. At OpenAI, you'll solve problems no one else has scale to tackle, with resources and autonomy to execute at world-class level.

Our San Francisco HQ offers collaborative spaces, top-tier amenities, and the energy of being at the epicenter of AI innovation. You'll work alongside researchers who created GPT-4, infrastructure experts scaling exaFLOP compute, and product teams serving millions daily.

How to Apply

Ready to accelerate OpenAI's engineering organization? Submit your resume and a brief note explaining why you're excited about developer productivity at OpenAI. We're reviewing applications on a rolling basis and moving quickly for exceptional candidates.

Application Link: [Apply Now Button]

OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity. We celebrate different perspectives that help us build AI benefiting all humanity.