Software Engineer, Life Sciences

Details

The Life Sciences team works at the intersection of frontier life sciences model capabilities and products that help scientists accelerate research and leverage AI for scientific work. The team builds platforms connecting model intelligence with practical scientific workflows, including next-generation sequencing analysis, drug design, computational workloads, and laboratory services.

This role is for an experienced full-stack product engineer with strong backend skills. As an individual contributor, you will help define products, design systems, and ship experiences connecting scientists with AI capabilities and laboratory workflows. You will collaborate with researchers, scientists, and infrastructure engineers to turn complex needs into reliable, intuitive products. Life sciences experience is helpful but not required.

Responsibilities

• Design backend services, APIs, and integrations connecting users with models, scientific tools, and laboratory services.
• Create intuitive interfaces for navigating complex scientific workflows.
• Own projects from problem definition and technical design through launch, operation, and iteration.
• Work with scientific and research partners to identify user needs and prioritize product improvements.
• Partner with infrastructure engineers on performance, reliability, and scaling.
• Make engineering decisions that balance speed, quality, and long-term maintainability.

Requirements

• Strong software engineering fundamentals and depth in backend development, with the ability to build across the stack.
• Experience shipping and operating products used by large user bases.
• Strong product sense and the ability to translate ambiguous needs into useful software.
• Ability to work autonomously, make sound technical decisions, and drive projects forward with limited direction.
• Enjoyment of hands-on building and ownership within a lean team.
• Interest in advances in AI and their potential impact on scientific work.
• Ability to learn unfamiliar domains quickly and collaborate effectively with scientific and technical partners.

Particularly Relevant Experience

• Building AI applications, model-serving integrations, or inference platforms.
• Developing marketplaces or products that coordinate services and complex workflows.
• Taking new products from early concepts through launch and adoption.
• Working with scientific tools, research data, or laboratory systems.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. The company is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Background checks are administered in accordance with applicable law.

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, paid 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.
• Equity and performance-related bonuses for eligible employees.
• Additional taxable fringe benefits may include charitable donation matching and wellness stipends.