Software Engineer - Privacy & Compliance

Details

We’re looking for a Software Engineer to architect and build backend systems that enforce data privacy and automate compliance at scale. You’ll work closely with product, infrastructure, security, and legal teams to embed privacy-by-design into our data and access layers.

This is a hands-on, high-impact role for an experienced engineer who is passionate about protecting user data while enabling innovation.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate backend services that enforce policy-driven data access, lifecycle controls, and privacy protections.
• Develop distributed authorization and identity-aware enforcement mechanisms integrated directly into data services and control planes.
• Implement auditability, policy hooks, and enforcement observability to ensure compliance is continuously verifiable.
• Partner with Security, Legal, and Compliance to convert privacy requirements into scalable technical designs and developer-friendly APIs.
• Harden data platforms and backend services through schema-level controls and data handling constraints by default.
• Collaborate with infrastructure teams to ensure consistent enforcement across systems while minimizing duplicated implementations.
• Contribute patterns, libraries, and education that elevate trustworthy data access patterns across the organization.

Requirements

• 5+ years of industry experience building and operating backend or infrastructure systems in production.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, with fluency in at least one major programming language (e.g., Python, Go, Rust, C++, Java).
• Experience with distributed authorization, RBAC/ACL systems, encryption-based access, or policy engines.
• Familiarity with global privacy regulations and their architectural implications.
• Ability to influence and collaborate with teams across legal, compliance, product, and engineering.
• A bias toward practical, impactful solutions that balance privacy protections with product needs.

Nice to Have

• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP) and large-scale data systems.
• Background in security engineering, privacy engineering, or data governance.
• Experience with control-plane or metadata-driven enforcement systems.
• Exposure to data platforms or ML infrastructure.
• Prior experience in a regulated or highly sensitive data environment.

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.

OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. Background checks will be administered in accordance with applicable law.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base pay range listed: $255,000 - $405,000 (base pay may vary by market location, experience, and other factors).
• Offers equity and may include performance-related bonus(es) for eligible employees.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts.
• Pre-tax accounts (Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, commuter benefits).
• 401(k) with employer match.
• Paid parental leave and paid medical/caregiver leave.
• Paid time off (flexible PTO for exempt employees; up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees), 13+ paid holidays, and additional paid 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.