Software Engineer, Infrastructure - Analytics

Details

About the Team

The Scaling team designs, builds, and operates critical infrastructure that enables research at OpenAI. Our mission is to accelerate the progress of research towards AGI by building core systems that researchers rely on — ranging from low-level infrastructure components to research-facing custom applications. These systems must scale with the increasing complexity and size of our workloads while remaining reliable and easy to use.

About the Role

As we grow, we’re looking for a pragmatic and versatile software engineer who thrives in fast-moving environments and enjoys building systems that empower others. This is a generalist software engineering role with an emphasis on distributed systems, data processing infrastructure, and operational excellence. You’ll develop and operate foundational backend services that power key OpenAI research workflows — both by creating new infrastructure and by building on existing systems. Use cases span observability, analytics, performance engineering, and other domains.

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

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate scalable backend systems that support various ML research workflows, including observability and analytics.
• Develop reliable infrastructure that supports both streaming and batch data processing at scale.
• Create internal-facing tools and applications as needed.
• Debug and improve performance of services running on Kubernetes, including operational tooling and observability.
• Collaborate with engineers and researchers to deliver reliable systems that meet real-world needs in production.
• Help improve system reliability by participating in the on-call rotation and responding to critical incidents.

Requirements / Qualifications

• Strong proficiency in Python and/or Rust and backend software development, ideally in large codebases.
• Experience with distributed systems and scalable data processing infrastructure, including technologies like Kafka, Spark, Trino/Presto, Iceberg.
• Hands-on experience operating services in Kubernetes, with familiarity in tools like Terraform and Helm.
• Comfort working across the stack — from low-level infrastructure components to application logic — and making trade-offs to move quickly.
• A focus on building systems that are both technically sound and easy for others to use.
• Curiosity and adaptability in fast-changing environments, especially in high-growth organizations.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base pay range shown: $310K – $460K. Offers equity. (Base pay may vary depending on market location, knowledge, skills, and experience.)
• 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, medical, and caregiver leave; flexible PTO and paid company holidays.
• 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.

Other Notes

• Background checks are administered in accordance with applicable law. OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.