Principal Infra Engineer, Simulation Platform

OpenAI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 347,000 - 490,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the architecture and evolution of the Simulation Platform in San Francisco. You will own a critical interface between research and engineering, building systems, APIs, and patterns that let researchers use agentic coding infrastructure safely in training environments.

This role targets senior backend or infra engineers with strong judgment, product sense for technical users, and the ability to drive execution across teams.

Qualifications

• Extensive backend or infrastructure experience in fast-moving environments.
• Strong API design, systems design, and engineering fundamentals.
• Detail-oriented with a focus on correctness, reliability, and operational quality.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and evolve the integration between research harnesses and training infrastructure.
• Create platforms for LLMs to train and evaluate in simulated environments with realistic axes.
• Own end-to-end integration surfaces from architecture to rollout and maintenance.
• Build reliable execution systems for demanding training workloads at scale.
• Collaborate with research, infra, and platform teams to support new use cases.
• Design clean interfaces and workflows for highly technical internal users.
• Prevent technical debt by durable abstractions and clear ownership.
• Raise the bar for correctness and operational rigor in critical systems.

Skills

Backend systems design

API design

Python

Systems reliability

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Python tooling

Job description

OpenAI is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the architecture and evolution of the Simulation Platform in San Francisco. You will own a critical interface between research and engineering, building systems, APIs, and patterns that let researchers use agentic coding infrastructure safely in training environments.

This role targets senior backend or infra engineers with strong judgment, product sense for technical users, and the ability to drive execution across teams.