Software Engineer, Privacy Engineering

OpenAI; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking an experienced Software Engineer to lead the architecture and execution of user data governance. You will shape technical direction, build shared platforms and controls, and drive cross-functional programs that make data flows discoverable and ownership explicit.

This role is based in San Francisco, with relocation assistance available. You will define technical strategy for data governance across mapping, classification, lineage, retention, deletion, access, and permitted

Qualifications

• Experience leading data governance initiatives.
• Strong design and architecture skills.
• Ability to translate requirements into pragmatic roadmaps.

Responsibilities

• Define technical direction for user data governance across data mapping, classification, lineage, retention, deletion, access, and permitted usage.
• Design and build shared services, APIs, metadata systems, and policy-enforcement mechanisms.
• Establish inventories of user data, system ownership, data flows, and policy applicability across products, infrastructure, analytics, and research systems.
• Partner with Product, Data, Infrastructure, Security, and Legal leaders to define decision rights, translate requirements into controls, and drive adoption across teams.
• Own governance systems.

Skills

Data governance

Systems design

Cross-functional leadership

Roadmapping

Tools

APIs

Metadata systems

Policy enforcement

Job description

About the Team

The Privacy Engineering team builds the systems and technical foundations that govern how user data is understood, retained, accessed, and used across OpenAI. We partner with Product, Data, Infrastructure, Security, and Legal to translate policy and trust commitments into durable architecture and enforceable controls. Our work spans data inventory and mapping, classification and lineage, retention and deletion, access governance, purpose and usage controls, auditability, and lifecycle automation. We aim to make policy-aligned data handling the default while giving teams clear, reliable primitives for building and operating products at scale.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Software Engineer to drive the architecture and execution of user data governance across OpenAI. You will define technical direction, build shared platforms and controls, and lead cross-functional programs that make data flows discoverable, policies enforceable, and ownership explicit. This role is well suited to a senior engineer who can move between deep systems design and organization-wide influence, turn ambiguous requirements into pragmatic roadmaps, and operate high-trust systems end to end. This position is based in San Francisco. Relocation assistance is available.

• Set the technical strategy and architecture for user data governance across data mapping, classification, lineage, retention, deletion, access, and permitted usage.
• Design and build shared services, APIs, metadata systems, and policy-enforcement mechanisms that make governance controls consistent, scalable, and auditable.
• Establish reliable inventories of user data, system ownership, data flows, and policy applicability across products, infrastructure, analytics, and research systems.
• Partner with Product, Data, Infrastructure, Security, and Legal leaders to define decision rights, translate requirements into controls, and drive adoption across teams.
• Own governance systems