RE/RS, Data Understanding - Foundations

Details

The Data Understanding team creates high-quality datasets and their quantized representations for OpenAI. This includes data synthesis, VQ representations, processing, filtering, deduplication, quality control, and tokenization for large model training runs.

The role focuses on advancing how OpenAI builds and understands pretraining data at scale. You will treat data quality and curation as core research problems by developing methods to select, combine, and transform data; creating datasets that improve model capabilities; and designing rigorous experiments to understand how data choices and interventions affect model learning and downstream behavior. You will work with frontier models and web-scale data, build evidence for effective approaches, and translate successful research into scalable data processing pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive a research agenda, from selecting important problems through long-running work and measurable impact.
• Develop new or improved machine learning ideas for data understanding, quality, and curation.
• Create and transform datasets to improve model capabilities.
• Design rigorous experiments to evaluate how data choices and interventions affect model learning and downstream behavior.
• Work with frontier models and web-scale data.
• Translate successful research into scalable data processing pipelines.
• Collaborate within OpenAI's empirical research environment.

Requirements

• A strong track record of developing new or improved machine learning ideas through publications, projects, or applied research.
• Ability to independently choose research problems and carry work through to impact.
• Interest in OpenAI's empirical and collaborative approach to research.

Nice To Have

• Thoughtfulness about AI's impact, including privacy, provenance, and data quality.
• Experience building high-performance deep learning or large-scale data processing systems.

Benefits

• Equity, performance-related bonuses for eligible employees, and a range of employee 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, and caregiver leave.
• Paid time off, company holidays, office closures, and paid sick or safe time as required by law.
• 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.
• Additional benefits may include charitable donation matching and wellness stipends.