Principal Simulation Platform Architect (Scale & Reliability)

Slope; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 210,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI, SF-based, seeks a Principal Software Engineer to lead the architecture and evolution of the Simulation Platform. You will own essential interfaces between research and engineering, building systems, APIs, and patterns enabling researchers to run agentic coding in training environments safely and efficiently.

The role suits senior backend/infrastructure engineers with strong judgment, product sense for technical users, and the ability to drive multi-team execution while ensuring

Qualifications

• Significant experience building and scaling backend or infrastructure systems in fast-moving environments.
• Deep strength in API design, systems design, and engineering fundamentals.
• Detail-oriented with focus on correctness, reliability, and operational quality.
• Ability to work with demanding technical users while maintaining engineering discipline.
• Proven track record leading cross-functional technical efforts and driving clarity across teams.
• Strong product sense and user empathy for internal platforms and developer tooling.
• Proficiency in Python; backend platform engineering; Rust is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and evolve the integration between research harness and training infrastructure.
• Build a platform for training and evaluating LLMs in simulated environments that match deployment settings.
• Own major integration surfaces end-to-end, from architecture and API design through rollout and maintenance.
• Build reliable execution systems that scale to demanding training workloads.
• Partner with research, engineering, and platform teams to support new training use cases.
• Design clean, stable interfaces and workflows for highly technical internal users.
• Prevent short-term workarounds by establishing durable abstractions and clear ownership.
• Raise the bar for correctness, reliability, and operational rigor in critical systems.

Skills

API design

Systems design

Backend infrastructure

Python

Rust

Cross-functional leadership

Technical judgment

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Job description

OpenAI, SF-based, seeks a Principal Software Engineer to lead the architecture and evolution of the Simulation Platform. You will own essential interfaces between research and engineering, building systems, APIs, and patterns enabling researchers to run agentic coding in training environments safely and efficiently.

The role suits senior backend/infrastructure engineers with strong judgment, product sense for technical users, and the ability to drive multi-team execution while ensuring