Forward Deployed Software Engineer - Seattle

OpenAI; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 153,000 - 325,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity offerings

Relocation assistance

Hybrid work model

Job summary

A leading AI research firm is seeking a Forward Deployed Software Engineer to collaborate directly with customers in Los Angeles. The role involves designing and implementing software solutions while working closely with customer technical teams. Candidate should have over 7 years of full-stack engineering experience and be comfortable in a hybrid work model. Compensation ranges from $153K to $325K with equity offers. This role allows for impactful customer engagement and innovative problem-solving.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional full-stack engineering experience.
• Experience in tech and product-driven companies.
• Desirable customer-facing experience.

Responsibilities

• Embed deeply with strategic customers to address technical requirements.
• Design and develop full-stack solutions iteratively.
• Collaborate with customers and teams to drive projects to completion.

Skills

Full-stack engineering

Customer-facing experience

Relational databases (Postgres/MySQL)

Iterative problem-solving

Job description

Forward Deployed Software Engineer - Seattle

OpenAI’s Forward Deployed Engineering team partners with customers to turn research breakthroughs into production systems. We operate at the intersection of customer delivery and core platform development.

About the Role

We are looking for customer‑focused software engineers to build effective custom software that leverages OpenAI’s APIs to solve real customer problems. As an FDSWE, you will work with our customers and OpenAI Forward Deployed Engineers to design and implement scalable solutions that solve their most difficult problems. You will design abstractions to solve customer problems, and then use them to scale our speed and quality of delivery across all Forward Deployed engagements.

This role is based in Seattle. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week. We offer relocation assistance. Travel up to 50% is required.

In this role, you will:

• Embed deeply with strategic customers to understand their business challenges and technical requirements in detail.
• Design, architect, and develop full‑stack solutions using an experiment‑driven, iterative approach.
• Prepare detailed scopes of work and project plans for both proof‑of‑concept prototypes and full production deployments.
• Work hands‑on with customers’ technical teams as a technical expert and trusted advisor, coding side‑by‑side to drive projects to completion on their infrastructure.
• Collaborate with Product, Research and Applied teams to ensure seamless customer experiences, project success and actionable product feedback.
• Contribute to internal knowledge bases, codifying best practices and sharing insights gained from customer engagements to scale the Forward Deployed Engineering function.

You’ll thrive in this role if you:

• Have 7+ years of professional full‑stack engineering experience (excluding internships) in relevant roles at tech and product‑driven companies – customer‑facing experience is highly desirable.
• Were a former founder, or early engineer at a startup that built a product from scratch – that is a plus.
• Have experience with relational databases like Postgres/MySQL.
• Have a bias for action and a willingness to work iteratively with your customers to deliver the right solution that solves their problem.

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.

Compensation

$153K – $325K + Offers Equity