Software Engineer, Distributed Data Systems - Robotics

OpenAI; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking a Software Engineer, Distributed Data Systems in San Francisco, CA to design, build, and operate some of the world’s largest distributed data systems for robotics training at exabyte-scale. You’ll manage data pipelines, collaborate with researchers, and ensure scalable, reliable platforms for rapid iteration.

You should thrive in a detail‑oriented, high‑stakes environment with strong distributed systems experience and excellent software engineering fundamentals.

Qualifications

• Experience with distributed systems and large-scale infrastructure for data processing.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals and writing robust, maintainable code.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and rapid change in a research-driven environment.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate exabyte-scale distributed data processing and data loaders for robotics training.
• Ensure data platform reliability and scalability for rapid iteration cycles.
• Partner with researchers to translate requirements into production-ready systems.
• Harden, optimize, and maintain data infrastructure powering multimodal training and evaluation.
• Deliver high-quality data for training robotics models.

Skills

Distributed systems

Large-scale infrastructure

Data pipelines

Research collaboration

Software engineering fundamentals

Ambiguity tolerance

Job description

About the Team

The OpenAI Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives.

About the Role

As a Software Engineer, Distributed Data Systems, you will design, build, and operate some of the largest distributed data systems in the world. You will be responsible for the end‑to‑end stack to deliver and consume top‑quality data for robotics training at exabyte‑scale. You’ll manage distributed data pipelines, collaborate closely with researchers to translate requirements into robust systems, and harden pipelines that serve as the backbone for OpenAI’s rapid iteration cycles.

We’re looking for engineers who are detail‑oriented, have strong experience with distributed systems, and excel at building reliable, large‑scale systems in high‑stakes environments.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

• Design, build, and maintain data infrastructure such as exabyte‑scale distributed data processing, data selection, automated labeling, and training data loaders.

• Ensure our data platform can scale by orders of magnitude while remaining reliable and efficient.

• Partner with researchers to deeply understand requirements and translate them into production‑ready systems.

• Harden, optimize, and maintain critical data infrastructure systems that power multimodal training and evaluation.

• Deliver the best possible data for training robotics models.

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Have strong experience with distributed systems and large‑scale infrastructure with a strong interest in data.

• Are detail‑oriented and bring rigor to building and maintaining reliable systems.

• Demonstrate excellent software engineering fundamentals and organizational skills.

• Are comfortable with ambiguity and rapid change

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.

For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Aff…

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.

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