Compute Electrical Engineer, Robotics

OpenAI, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI, Inc. is seeking an experienced Electrical Engineer to develop AI inference compute systems powering humanoid robots. You will own hardware architecture, from component selection to deployment, and design high-speed interfaces while balancing bandwidth, power, and signal integrity.

You will lead bench bring-up, validation, and power integrity checks, collaborating with thermal, mechanical, EMC, and software teams to integrate hardware into constrained robotic systems.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience developing compute hardware or similar high-speed electronics.
• Hands-on measurement and debugging with oscilloscopes and probing techniques.
• Deep understanding of high-speed digital interfaces and architectural tradeoffs.
• Strong signal- and power-integrity fundamentals and HDI PCB design experience.
• Ability to use a Linux shell, write small scripts, and perform basic network troubleshooting.
• Proactive, initiative-taking, and able to translate ambiguous requirements into concrete plans.

Responsibilities

• Own compute hardware architecture and development from component selection to deployment.
• Design and integrate high-speed interfaces (PCIe, DDR, Ethernet, MIPI, USB, DisplayPort).
• Develop onboard DC-DC conversion and power distribution.
• Define HDI PCB stackups and routing strategies balancing performance and cost.
• Lead bench bring-up, validation, and power measurements with debugging.
• Collaborate with thermal, mechanical, EMC, and software teams to integrate hardware.

Skills

Compute hardware design

High-speed measurement

Oscilloscopes

Linux shell

SSH/network troubleshooting

Power integrity

Tools

HDI PCB design tools

Interface validation

Job description

About the Team

Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and advancing toward AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world environments. Working across the full model and systems stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the physical constraints of real-world systems to improve people’s lives.

About the Role

We’re looking for an Electrical Engineer to develop the AI inference compute systems that power OpenAI’s humanoid robots. This role combines compute architecture, high-speed digital design, onboard power electronics, and compact HDI PCB development.

We’re looking for a self-driven engineer who takes ownership from concept through deployment. Above all, you should enjoy hands‑on engineering: bringing up boards, characterizing interfaces, and tracking challenging failures to their root cause.

In this role, you will:

• Own compute hardware architecture and development, from component selection and schematic design through PCB layout, validation, and deployment.

• Design and integrate high-speed interfaces—including PCIe, DDR, Ethernet, MIPI, USB, and DisplayPort—balancing bandwidth, connectivity, power, and signal integrity.

• Develop onboard DC-to-DC conversion and power distribution to meet efficiency, transient-response, sequencing, and power-integrity requirements.

• Define HDI PCB stackups, dielectric materials, via structures, and routing strategies that balance electrical performance, manufacturability, reliability, and cost.

• Lead bench bring‑up and validation, including test planning, high-speed interface characterization, power measurements, and debugging through verified resolution.

• Partner with thermal, mechanical, EMC, and software teams to integrate compute hardware into tightly constrained robotic systems.

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Have 5+ years of experience developing compute hardware or similarly complex high-speed electronics, with demonstrated ownership of complete designs.

• Bring strong hands‑on measurement and debugging skills, including practical experience with oscilloscopes, probing techniques, and interface validation.

• Understand high-speed digital interfaces deeply enough to make architectural tradeoffs and diagnose issues across hardware and software boundaries.

• Have strong signal‑integrity and power‑integrity fundamentals, a solid foundation in power electronics, and practical experience designing complex HDI PCBs.

• Can use a Linux shell, write simple shell scripts, connect over SSH, and perform basic Ethernet and network troubleshooting.

• Take initiative, turn ambiguous requirements into concrete engineering plans, and follow through to deliver working systems.

Additional, preferred qualifications:

• Experience designing around AI inference SoCs or accelerators, including their power, memory, and communication architectures.

• Familiarity with how AI inference workloads map to silicon capabilities, including compute throughput (TOPS), DRAM bandwidth and capacity, and how workload requirements and DRAM technology choices affect achievable performance and performance per watt.

• Experience bringing compute hardware into production and resolving fabrication, assembly, or test issues with manufacturing partners.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affi...

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

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