Software Engineer

OpenAI, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 347,000 - 385,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) match

Parental leave

Paid time off

Relocation assistance

Meal benefits

Learning stipend

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking a Software Engineer to build tools and infrastructure that support cybersecurity research, frontier-risk evaluations, and red teaming in San Francisco. You will partner with researchers and engineers to translate evolving questions into practical software, from early prototypes to mission-critical systems.

Projects include backend services, evaluation infrastructure, data pipelines, and internal apps for running tests and reviewing results.

Qualifications

• Strong software engineering fundamentals.
• Proficient in a general-purpose language and quick to learn new tools.
• Experience in backend, full-stack, infrastructure or data systems.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain software to support cybersecurity research, frontier-risk evaluations, and red teaming.
• Develop tools and workflows to run evaluations, inspect results, and investigate failures.
• Build services, APIs, data pipelines, and interfaces to help researchers work efficiently.
• Turn experimental workflows into reusable, well-tested, and documented systems.
• Own projects from problem understanding through deployment and operation.
• Improve reliability, performance, observability, security, and usability.

Job description

We build software that helps understand and reduce risks from increasingly capable AI systems. Our work spans cybersecurity, frontier-risk evaluations, and red teaming, with a focus on turning research and testing into practical tools and reliable systems.

We collaborate across research, engineering, and security to investigate model capabilities, identify potential failures, and develop ways to evaluate and improve safeguards.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Software Engineer to build the tools and infrastructure that support this work. You’ll partner closely with researchers and other engineers to translate evolving questions into useful software—from early prototypes to systems that teams can depend on.

Projects may include backend services, evaluation infrastructure, data pipelines, and internal applications for running tests, investigating model behavior, and reviewing results. This is a general software engineering role with room to contribute across the stack and develop deeper expertise in AI safety and security.

In this role, you will:

• Design, build, and maintain software that supports cybersecurity research, frontier-risk evaluations, and red teaming.
• Develop tools and workflows that make it easier to run evaluations, inspect results, and investigate failures.
• Build services, APIs, data pipelines, and interfaces that help researchers work efficiently.
• Turn experimental workflows into reusable, well-tested, and documented systems.
• Own projects from understanding the problem and designing a solution through implementation, deployment, and ongoing operation.
• Improve reliability, performance, observability, security, and usability as needs evolve.
• Collaborate with researchers, security specialists, and engineers to identify useful problems and make practical technical decisions.

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Have strong software engineering fundamentals and experience building, shipping, and maintaining production software.
• Are proficient in a general-purpose programming language and comfortable learning unfamiliar tools and systems.
• Have experience in one or more areas such as backend development, full‑stack applications, infrastructure, or data systems.
• Can take an open-ended problem, clarify what matters, and deliver a useful solution.
• Balance rapid iteration with maintainable design and operational reliability.
• Communicate clearly and enjoy working with people across technical disciplines.
• Are interested in understanding advanced AI systems and helping address their risks.
• Experience with security, developer tools, research infrastructure, evaluation platforms, distributed systems, or AI applications would be valuable. Prior AI research or cybersecurity experience is helpful but not required.

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.

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.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.

At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.

Compensation

$347K – $385K + Offers Equity

The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. If the role is non‑exempt, overtime pay will be provided consistent with applicable laws. In addition to the salary range listed above, total compensation also includes generous equity, performance‑related bonus(es) for eligible employees, and the following benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre‑tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non‑birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non‑exempt employees
• 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
• Mental health and wellness support
• Employer‑paid basic life and disability coverage
• Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
• Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.

More details about our benefits are available to candidates during the hiring process.

This role is at‑will and OpenAI reserves the right to modify base pay and other compensation components at any time based on individual performance, team or company results, or market conditions.