Software Engineer, API Agents

OpenAI, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 266,000 - 445,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

401(k)

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking an experienced backend software engineer to build core systems powering next-generation agents in San Francisco. You will design reliable services and abstractions that help agents access context, use tools, retain knowledge, and execute safely across long-running workflows.

This role blends backend engineering with product judgment and cross-team collaboration. You will design, build, and operate the shared agent harness and backend infrastructure, create reusable capabilities

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional backend engineering experience.
• Exceptional backend fundamentals and leadership of complex systems.
• Proficiency in one or more backend languages (Python, Go, Rust, TypeScript).
• Strong systems design and operational judgment for distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate backend infrastructure powering long-running workflows.
• Develop reusable capabilities across search, context, memory, tool execution, and multi-agent orchestration.
• Ensure safe production operation with secure execution environments, identity, observability, and reliability.
• Collaborate with Research, Codex, infra, and product teams to translate research progress into production primitives.

Skills

Backend engineering

Systems design

Distributed systems

Backend languages

Ownership & accountability

Developer empathy

Security & reliability

Tools

Tools & infra knowledge

Job description

Core Product & Platform | API - San Francisco

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced backend software engineer to build the core systems behind the next generation of agents. You will design reliable services and abstractions that help agents find the right context, use tools and computers, retain knowledge, coordinate over long-running workflows, and take action safely. The role combines deep backend and infrastructure work with strong product judgment, with opportunities to work across agent runtimes, orchestration, search, execution environments, identity and permissions, observability, and evaluations. This is software and systems engineering rather than model training: success comes from strong backend fundamentals, high agency, and the ability to turn fast-moving research capabilities into dependable production primitives.

In this role, you will:

Design, build, and operate the shared agent harness and backend infrastructure that power long-running, high-value workflows across OpenAI and third-party products.

Build reusable capabilities across search and connected context, computer use, memory, tool execution, delegation, subagents, and multi-agent orchestration.

Establish the foundations agents need to operate safely in production, including secure execution environments, identity and permissions, observability, evaluations, reliability, and cost and latency efficiency.

Partner with Research, Codex, infrastructure, applied product teams, and external developers to translate model progress, traces, evaluations, and real workflow needs into shared capabilities and measurable gains in task completion, cost, and latency.

Your background might look something like:

7+ years of professional engineering experience, excluding internships, in relevant backend, infrastructure, platform, or product-driven engineering roles.

Exceptional backend engineering fundamentals and a track record of leading complex systems from ambiguous problem statements to reliable production services.

Proficiency in one or more backend languages such as Python, Go, Rust, TypeScript, or similar, with the ability to move comfortably across service, platform, and product boundaries.

Strong systems design and operational judgment across distributed systems, APIs, workflow orchestration, search or storage, compute and execution, identity and permissions, or observability and reliability.

Infrastructure depth paired with product judgment: you can abstract complex systems into simple, durable primitives that other engineers and developers can build on.

Strong developer empathy and communication skills, including experience partnering with users, research teams, and product engineers to make fast-moving capabilities useful and dependable.

High agency and comfort operating in a fast-moving environment, with strong ownership of security, reliability, and operational excellence.

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.

To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form . No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

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

$266K – $445K + 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.