Network Engineer

Details

OpenAI’s Network Engineering team within IT and Security delivers secure, scalable, and resilient network services supporting offices, labs, campuses, cloud environments, people, and devices. The team combines network fundamentals with security, reliability, automation, and user-centered design to support AI research, corporate operations, and product innovation.

As a Network Engineer, you will design, operate, and continuously improve global networks across offices, labs, campuses, points of presence, cloud environments, and hybrid infrastructure. The role combines strategic platform engineering with production operations, including architecture, standards, roadmaps, lifecycle planning, automation, incident response, escalations, and time-sensitive delivery. You will partner with IT, Security, AppEng, Research, Applied, workplace teams, carriers, and vendors.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and operate secure, scalable enterprise networks across offices, labs, campuses, PoPs, cloud connectivity, and hybrid environments.
• Set strategic direction through architecture, standards, roadmaps, lifecycle planning, capacity strategy, and measurable reliability outcomes.
• Own production operations, including on-call responsibilities, incident response, escalations, and time-sensitive delivery.
• Use incident learning, problem management, ticket trends, and telemetry to eliminate recurring failure modes through automation, Infrastructure-as-Code, and safer operating standards.
• Develop dashboards, telemetry, alerts, and health checks for actionable visibility into network performance and failure domains.
• Implement and operate routing, switching, wireless, WAN, Internet edge, firewall, NAC, segmentation, and core network services.
• Lead network changes, migrations, refreshes, site launches, and service improvements from design through validation and operational handoff.
• Partner with security and identity teams to apply least privilege, Zero Trust principles, RBAC, device identity, and appropriate access controls.
• Balance long-term platform improvements with urgent operational priorities through clear ownership, documented decisions, deliberate tradeoffs, and transparent communication.

Requirements

• Hands-on experience designing and operating enterprise networks using platforms such as Cisco IOS, Cisco Meraki, Palo Alto, Arista, or equivalent technologies.
• Strong routing and switching fundamentals, including BGP, OSPF, VLAN/VRF design, WAN, Internet edge, and high-availability patterns.
• Production troubleshooting experience across packets, logs, telemetry, configurations, circuits, and physical infrastructure.
• Experience with network observability using SNMP, syslog, NetFlow, packet capture, ELK, Grafana, or comparable platforms.
• Strong network security fundamentals, including ACLs, firewalls, VPN, 802.1X/NAC, device profiling, segmentation, and least privilege.
• Ability to automate infrastructure using a modern programming language and tools such as Python, Go, Terraform, Ansible, APIs, Git, and CI/CD.
• Experience with enterprise wireless and at least one cloud or hybrid connectivity environment.
• Clear communication, sound operational judgment, and the ability to own outcomes while partnering across technical and business teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience shaping a multi-quarter network roadmap while supporting production operations and changing delivery needs.
• Experience with optical transport and carrier services, including DWDM, wavelengths, dark fiber, and DIA.
• Experience with cloud and virtual WAN architectures such as Azure Virtual WAN or AWS Transit Gateway.
• Experience with campus, data center, colocation, or PoP architecture, interconnects, high-availability design, and operational handoff.
• Experience building internal platforms, self-service workflows, or AI-assisted automation that reduces operational toil.

Work Model and Location

This role is based in San Francisco, California, and uses a hybrid work model with three days per week in the office.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary: $293,000–$385,000 per year.
• Equity, performance-related bonuses for eligible employees, and benefits.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts.
• Pre-tax accounts for health, dependent care, and commuter expenses.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match.
• Paid parental, medical, caregiver, and sick or safe leave.
• Paid time off, company holidays, and paid office closures.
• Mental health and wellness support.
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage.
• Annual learning and development stipend.
• Daily office meals and eligible meal delivery credits.
• Relocation support for eligible employees.