Software Engineer, Privacy Infrastructure at OpenAI - San Francisco, CA

Join OpenAI's Privacy Engineering team at the forefront of AI safety and compliance. Build scalable data infrastructure that powers legal workflows for the world's leading AI research organization.

Role Overview

OpenAI's Privacy Infrastructure team operates at the critical intersection of Security, Privacy, Legal, and Core Infrastructure. We're seeking an exceptional Software Engineer to design and operate technical systems that transform complex legal compliance processes into scalable, secure workflows.

In this high-impact role, you'll partner daily with Legal, Security, IT, and engineering teams to build data infrastructure that handles massive-scale document review, secure data processing, and evidentiary-grade audit trails. This position demands both deep technical expertise in large-scale data systems and the rigor required when every byte could face regulatory scrutiny.

Located in San Francisco with relocation assistance available, this role offers the chance to shape the privacy foundations of transformative AI technologies while working alongside some of the world's top engineering talent.

Key Responsibilities

Scale Data Infrastructure: Design and operate petabyte-scale data storage pipelines optimized for legal compliance and auditability. Build systems that can ingest, process, and serve massive document collections with millisecond query performance.

Build Discovery Services: Implement search and discovery platforms using Spark/Databricks, Elasticsearch index layers, and metadata catalogs. Enable Legal teams to surface relevant documents from billions of records in seconds.

Secure Data Movement: Automate end-to-end secure data transfers with military-grade encryption, checksum validation, and comprehensive audit logging. Ensure every data export maintains perfect chain-of-custody.

Locked-Down Compute: Architect isolated compute environments that balance researcher productivity with enterprise-grade security controls. Implement zero-trust architectures for sensitive legal workloads.

Observability & Accountability: Instrument comprehensive monitoring and KPI dashboards tracking data holds, production timelines, and compliance metrics. Build alerting systems that prevent SLA violations.

Cross-Functional Partnership: Collaborate with Legal to codify SOPs, work with Security on threat modeling, and partner with Infrastructure teams on scalable deployments. Translate business requirements into production-grade systems.

Qualifications

We're looking for engineers who combine deep systems expertise with the ability to operate in high-stakes compliance environments:

• 5+ years experience building/operating large-scale data lakes (Azure Data Lake, S3, GCS)
• Production experience with Spark, Databricks, or similar distributed processing frameworks
• Expertise in Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Pulumi) and CI/CD automation
• Experience with legal discovery workflows or regulated industry data handling
• Strong security background including encryption, key management, and audit systems
• Proven ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Track record shipping systems that balance performance, cost, and compliance
• Comfort operating under tight deadlines with rigorous documentation requirements

Bonus: Experience with eDiscovery platforms (Relativity, Ringtail), ML data pipelines, or federal compliance frameworks (FedRAMP, CJIS).

Salary & Benefits

Competitive Compensation: Total compensation range of $220,000 - $350,000+ including base salary, equity, and performance bonus. Exact compensation based on experience and skills.

Comprehensive Benefits Package:

• Premium medical, dental, vision coverage
• 401(k) with generous matching
• Unlimited PTO policy
• Relocation assistance to San Francisco
• Stock options in market-leading AI company
• Weekly catered meals and fully stocked kitchens
• Onsite fitness center and wellness programs
• Mental health support services
• Professional development budget
• Generous parental leave

Why Join OpenAI?

OpenAI isn't just building AI products—we're creating the infrastructure that ensures artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Our Privacy Engineering team plays a pivotal role in this mission by building defensibly secure systems that enable safe AI deployment at global scale.

Work on problems that matter: Every system you build protects the data that powers frontier AI research. Your work directly enables OpenAI researchers to push boundaries while maintaining the highest standards of privacy and security.

Join a world-class team: Collaborate with engineers who've built infrastructure at FAANG-scale, security experts from top-tier firms, and legal minds shaping AI regulation. Learn from the best while contributing to systems that define industry standards.

Be part of history: Help architect the privacy foundations for transformative technologies. Your work will be scrutinized by regulators, researchers, and the public—but that's what makes it meaningful.

How to Apply

Ready to build privacy infrastructure that scales with the future of AI? Submit your application including:

• Resume/CV highlighting relevant experience
• GitHub/portfolio with data infrastructure projects
• Brief note on your most challenging data compliance project

OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Background checks administered per applicable law.

Applications reviewed on rolling basis. San Francisco location required.