Role Overview

The Software Engineer, Integrity Foundations position at OpenAI is at the heart of ensuring our AI platforms remain secure, reliable, and trustworthy as they scale to billions of users. Located in the vibrant tech hub of San Francisco, California, this role sits within the Applied Foundations team, which defends against financial abuse, scaled attacks, botting, scripting, and other adversarial threats that could compromise user safety or operational stability.

OpenAI's mission is to advance artificial general intelligence (AGI) in a safe, reliable manner that benefits all of humanity. As a Software Engineer in Integrity Foundations, you'll develop core infrastructure and systems that detect, prevent, and mitigate risks. You'll work cross-functionally with engineering, product, research, and safety teams to harness AI's potential responsibly.

Key challenges include handling massive data volumes from user interactions, real-time threat detection at scale, and balancing robust security with seamless user experiences. Our tech stack—Terraform, Kubernetes, Azure, Python, Postgres, Kafka—powers high-availability systems that must withstand sophisticated attacks. If you thrive in high-stakes environments, own problems end-to-end, and care deeply about production AI safety, this role is for you.

With at least 3 years of experience in backend engineering and data pipelines, you'll contribute to incident response, tooling development, and long-term risk reduction. OpenAI values humility, collaboration, and a 'whatever it takes' mindset to make the team succeed.

Key Responsibilities

In this dynamic role, you'll tackle real-world problems impacting OpenAI's platforms. Here's what you'll do daily:

• Develop advanced detection systems for financial fraud, botting, scripting, and multi-account abuse using Python and ML integrations.
• Design and deploy scalable backend services on Kubernetes and Azure to prevent adversarial attacks without UX friction.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to architect solutions that mitigate scaled threats like content spam and API exploitation.
• Lead incident response for live platform issues, performing triage, root cause analysis, and rapid deployment of fixes.
• Build and optimize data pipelines with Kafka and Postgres for real-time telemetry and anomaly detection.
• Implement infrastructure as code with Terraform to ensure reproducible, secure deployments.
• Create custom dashboards and alerting tools using open-source and proprietary tech to accelerate workflows.
• Conduct security reviews, penetration testing simulations, and performance optimizations for production services.
• Integrate AI models for behavioral analysis and automated threat neutralization.
• Document playbooks, contribute to on-call rotations, and mentor junior engineers on best practices.
• Monitor global platform health, predict emerging threats, and propose proactive defenses.
• Experiment with new tools and frameworks to stay ahead of evolving abuse tactics.
• Drive end-to-end ownership of abuse prevention features from ideation to production rollout.

Expect a fast-paced environment where you'll ship code weekly, iterate based on real incidents, and directly impact OpenAI's safety posture.

Qualifications

To excel as a Software Engineer, Integrity Foundations at OpenAI, bring these qualifications:

• 3+ years professional software engineering experience, ideally in security, backend, or infrastructure.
• Expertise in production backend services, data pipelines, and scalable systems.
• Proficiency in Python; bonus for Kubernetes, Terraform, Azure, Postgres, Kafka.
• Experience with fraud/abuse detection, incident response, or trust & safety systems.
• Self-starter who builds tools, learns fast, and owns outcomes.
• Strong communicator with a humble, team-first attitude.
• Passion for AI safety and ethical AI deployment.

Prior experience at high-scale tech companies (e.g., FAANG) is a plus, but we prioritize problem-solving over specific tools.

Salary & Benefits

OpenAI offers competitive compensation for Software Engineer, Integrity Foundations roles in San Francisco, estimated at $180,000 - $280,000 USD yearly base, plus equity, bonuses, and comprehensive benefits. Total comp can exceed $400K+ for strong performers.

Benefits include health/dental/vision, 401(k) match, unlimited PTO, professional development stipend, meals, fitness perks, relocation support, and more. We prioritize work-life balance in a mission-driven culture.

Why Join OpenAI?

OpenAI is reshaping humanity's future through safe AGI. Work with world-class talent on products used by millions, tackling challenges no one else can. San Francisco HQ offers unparalleled networking in AI epicenter. Our inclusive culture values diverse perspectives, with EEO commitment. Join to make history while growing your career exponentially.

How to Apply

Ready to safeguard AI's future? Submit your resume, GitHub/portfolio, and a note on why you're excited about Integrity Foundations. We review applications on a rolling basis—apply today!