Engineering Manager, Cooperative Systems

Details

About the Team

The Cooperative AI team is scaling OpenAI with OpenAI.

We are building a model-powered scaled automated workforce and knowledge system that evolves and learns alongside a human workforce. By leveraging OpenAI’s state-of-the-art models and technologies, some already in production, others still in the lab, we develop systems that reason and work autonomously for a wide variety of operational work.

We leverage real workloads for critical systems across finance, sales, customer support, integrity, product insights, internal operations, and more in order to drive insights into product and industry. We partner closely with internal teams and external customers globally, operating in a hyper-fast feedback loop where many of our users are just a few steps away. This proximity allows us to iterate quickly, validate impact in real time, and accelerate industry impacting learnings and systems builds.

We are a highly multidisciplinary, self-contained team focused on transforming the workplace via smart systems, knowledge, scalable and reliable primitives that apply world-class AI capabilities across domains. Our mission is to learn fast and transform how humans collaborate with AI at scale.

About the Role

We are looking for a hands-on Engineering Manager to lead a small, fast-moving team building AI-powered automation systems that redefine how work gets done across OpenAI.

This role sits at the intersection of applied AI, research, and product engineering. You’ll lead a team that builds systems that know how to learn from humans, and carry real workloads across sales, support, finance, IT, and more, while staying deeply involved in the technical work.

You will operate in a highly iterative environment, deploying systems directly to internal users, gathering rapid feedback, and evolving solutions in real time.

This is a high-ownership role for someone excited about building 0→1 systems, working closely with customers, and shaping how AI transforms operational work at scale.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a small team building applied AI systems for internal operations
• Design and build AI-powered automation systems in close proximity to customers
• Stay hands-on in architecture and implementation across the full stack
• Develop evolving systems spanning developer tools, automation platforms, knowledge graphs, and data systems
• Deploy systems directly to internal users and close customers to iterate rapidly based on real-world feedback
• Engage frequently with scaled workforces to understand needs and validate solutions
• Create systems for visibility and learning in hybrid workforces
• Partner with product, research, and ops teams daily

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in engineering, including 3+ years of experience in engineering management, and at least 7 years as an IC engineer
• Hands-on builder who enjoys operating across the stack
• Deep experience applying AI and readiness to experiment with frontier approaches
• Strong technical judgment across systems design, infrastructure, and full-stack development
• Experience building developer tools, internal platforms, or workflow automation systems
• Enjoy frequent interaction with customers and thrive in feedback-driven development loops
• Comfortable with ambiguity and excited to operate in a rapidly evolving space
• Experience in operationally complex environments (e.g., logistics, support systems, internal tooling, warehouse automation, etc.)

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.

Benefits

• Base pay range listed: $325K – $385K (total compensation also includes equity and performance-related bonus(es) for eligible employees)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses
• 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
• Mental health and wellness support
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
• Annual learning and development stipend
• Daily meals in offices and meal delivery credits as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits (e.g., charitable donation matching and wellness stipends)