Staff+ Software Engineer, Identity Infrastructure Engineering
Used Tools & Technologies
Not specified
Required Skills & Competences
Tag name is followed by "@" symbol and proficiency level value.
About proficiency levels:
- 1-2 — basic awareness. Minimal hands-on experience, and a rudimentary understanding of the technology's purpose;
- 3-6 — daily use. Comfortable and regular usage, capable of handling common tasks and challenges related to the technology;
- 7-9 — you are an expert, you can teach others, you know all the pitfalls and tricks;
- 10 — exceptional knowledge, comprehensive understanding, and adeptness in all aspects of the technology, including advanced problem-solving. Think twice before claiming or demanding such level.
Security @ 4
Go @ 7
Python @ 7
Distributed Systems @ 7
Networking @ 4
Rust @ 7
Observability @ 4
AI @ 4
- 1-2 — basic awareness. Minimal hands-on experience, and a rudimentary understanding of the technology's purpose;
- 3-6 — daily use. Comfortable and regular usage, capable of handling common tasks and challenges related to the technology;
- 7-9 — you are an expert, you can teach others, you know all the pitfalls and tricks;
- 10 — exceptional knowledge, comprehensive understanding, and adeptness in all aspects of the technology, including advanced problem-solving. Think twice before claiming or demanding such level.
Details
About the Team
Security is at the foundation of OpenAI’s mission. The Identity Infrastructure Engineering team designs and builds identity and access management solutions that protect model weights, customer data, and critical systems across multiple cloud environments. The team partners with Applied Engineering, Research, IT, and Security to provide a secure and scalable platform for permissioning, orchestration, and AI research.
About the Role
You will help build and evolve identity infrastructure that supports OpenAI’s research, engineering, and internal platforms. This role sits at the intersection of cloud infrastructure, identity systems, and software engineering. You will work across production systems, infrastructure-as-code, cloud control planes, identity providers, and operational infrastructure to build secure, scalable, and reliable systems used broadly across the company.
Responsibilities
- Lead architecture, development, and operation of identity infrastructure spanning cloud platforms, internal systems, and critical engineering services.
- Design and evolve systems for authentication, authorization, access governance, auditability, and policy enforcement with a focus on reliability, scalability, and secure-by-default design.
- Build foundational infrastructure and platform capabilities used across engineering, research, and security teams.
- Improve reliability, observability, performance, and operational maturity of identity infrastructure supporting mission-critical systems and workflows.
- Lead ambiguous, high-impact technical initiatives across security, infrastructure, and engineering teams, driving alignment and execution across multiple stakeholders.
- Partner with engineers, researchers, and security teams to build scalable access patterns and infrastructure that enable rapid development while maintaining strong security boundaries and operational rigor.
- Raise the engineering bar through strong technical judgment, thoughtful system design, operational excellence, and long-term ownership of critical infrastructure.
Requirements
- 10+ years building and operating large-scale infrastructure, platform, or backend systems.
- Deep experience with cloud infrastructure, identity systems, distributed systems, and infrastructure-as-code.
- Experience leading complex technical initiatives across teams and driving architecture in ambiguous environments.
- Experience building security-critical systems involving authentication, authorization, access governance, privileged access, or policy enforcement.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals with experience in Go, Rust, Python, or similar languages.
- Ability to debug across code, cloud infrastructure, identity systems, networking, and operations.
- High bar for reliability, security, auditability, and operational rigor in mission-critical systems.
Location & Work Model
This role is based in San Francisco, CA. OpenAI uses a hybrid work model of three days in the office per week.
Benefits
- Base pay range listed below; total compensation may include equity, performance-related bonuses, and other components.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts.
- Pre-tax accounts (Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, commuter expenses).
- 401(k) with employer match.
- Paid parental leave and paid medical/caregiver leave.
- Flexible PTO and paid holidays/office closures.
- Mental health and wellness support; employer-paid basic life and disability coverage.
- Annual learning & development stipend; daily meals in offices and meal delivery credits as eligible.
- Relocation support for eligible employees.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. The company emphasizes safety, diverse perspectives, and equal opportunity employment. Background checks will be administered in accordance with applicable law.