Host Systems Software Engineer

OpenAI; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI’s Hardware organization is seeking an experienced systems software engineer to define and build the host software stack for our custom AI systems. You will work closely with hardware on performance-critical software, including Linux kernel drivers, high-throughput I/O paths, and system-scale networking like RDMA.

Responsibilities span architecture, implementation, bring-up, debugging, and performance optimization.

Qualifications

• Experience designing host software for AI infrastructure.
• Proficiency with Linux kernel drivers and userspace tooling.
• Strong background in high-throughput, low-latency networking (RDMA).

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and debug host-side systems software for AI infrastructure, including Linux kernel drivers and supporting userspace components.
• Build and optimize software paths for high-throughput, low-latency communication, including RDMA and related networking functionality.
• Develop software around PCIe, DMA, NICs, accelerators, memory movement, and device interaction.
• Bring up new hardware platforms and diagnose issues across kernel, firmware, networking, and hardware boundaries.
• Build tooling for integration, testing, diagnostics, observability, qualification, and performance characterization.
• Collaborate with hardware, networking, and platform teams to define interfaces and integrate new capabilities.

Skills

Linux kernel drivers

high-throughput I/O paths

RDMA networking

PCIe

DMA

NICs

Accelerators

Memory movement

Job description

About the Team

OpenAI’s Hardware organization develops AI-native silicon and system-level solutions for the unique demands of advanced AI workloads. Building on efforts like Jalapeño, the team is developing future generations of AI-native silicon and tightly integrated systems to power the next generation of frontier models. By co-designing chips, systems, tools, and methodologies, the team helps deliver faster, more efficient, and production-ready hardware for OpenAI’s supercomputing platform.

About the Role

We’re looking for an experienced systems software engineer to help define and build the host software stack for our custom next-generation AI systems. You will work close to the hardware on performance-critical software, including Linux kernel drivers, high-throughput I/O paths, and system-scale networking and RDMA. This role spans architecture, implementation, platform bring-up, debugging, and performance optimization. You will work across hardware and software boundaries to make new systems usable end to end, from low-level device interfaces through userspace tooling and production validation. In this role you will: Design, implement, and debug host-side systems software for AI infrastructure, including Linux kernel drivers and supporting userspace components. Build and optimize software paths for high-throughput, low-latency communication, including RDMA and related networking functionality. Develop software around PCIe, DMA, NICs, accelerators, memory movement, and device interaction. Bring up new hardware platforms and diagnose complex issues across kernel, firmware, networking, and hardware boundaries. Build tooling for integration, testing, diagnostics, observability, qualification, and performance characterization. Collaborate with hardware, networking, and platform teams to define interfaces and integrate new capabilities. Work with external vendors where needed to integrate technologies and drive issues to resolution. Contribute across the systems sof