OpenAI

Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) - SF

OpenAI$150K — $180K *
Technical Services
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of engineering or deployment experience, including customer-facing roles
  • Experience in scoping and delivering complex systems
  • Proficient in production-grade coding using Python, JavaScript, or similar languages
  • Familiarity with systems powered by LLMs or generative models
  • Strong decision-making skills in high-pressure situations
  • Excellent communication skills for technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Ability to identify risks and adapt quickly

Responsibilities

  • Own technical delivery from prototype to production
  • Build full-stack systems that deliver customer value
  • Embed with customer teams to understand needs and guide adoption
  • Scope, sequence, and remove blockers from deployment work
  • Make trade-offs between scope, speed, and quality
  • Contribute code directly when clarity is needed
  • Document working patterns into reusable tools or playbooks
  • Provide feedback to improve models based on field experience
  • Ensure team clarity and momentum through close follow-through

Benefits

  • Hybrid work model with 3 days in-office per week
  • Relocation assistance available
  • Up to 50% travel required for role
Full Job Description
About the role

Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) lead complex end-to-end deployments of frontier models in production alongside our most strategic customers. You will own discovery, technical scoping, system design, build, and production rollout, partnering directly with customer engineering and domain teams.

You will measure success through production adoption, measurable workflow impact, and eval-driven feedback that changes product and model roadmaps. You'll work closely with our Product, Research, Partnerships, GRC, Security, and GTM teams.

This role is based in San Francisco. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week. We offer relocation assistance. Travel up to 50% is required.

In this role you will
  • Own technical delivery across multiple deployments from first prototype to stable production
  • Build full-stack systems that deliver customer value and sharpen how we learn
  • Embed closely with customer teams, understand their needs, and guide adoption of what you build
  • Scope work, sequence delivery, and remove blockers early
  • Make trade-offs between scope, speed, and quality; adjust plans to protect delivery
  • Contribute directly in the code when progress or clarity depends on it
  • Codify working patterns into tools, playbooks, or building blocks that others can use
  • Share field feedback that helps Research and Product understand where the models succeed and where they can improve
  • Keep teams moving through clarity and follow-through


You might thrive in this role if you
  • Bring 5+ years of engineering or technical deployment experience that includes customer-facing work
  • Have scoped and delivered complex systems in fast-moving or ambiguous environments
  • Write and review production-grade code across frontend and backend using Python, JavaScript, or comparable stacks
  • Have built or deployed systems powered by LLMs or generative models and understand how model behaviour affects product experience
  • Simplify complexity and make fast, sound decisions under pressure
  • Communicate clearly with engineers, product teams, and customer stakeholders
  • Spot risks early and adjust without slowing down
  • Model calm and judgment when the stakes are high


This role is based in San Francisco. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week. We offer relocation assistance. Travel up to 50% is required.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research laboratory consisting of the for-profit corporation OpenAI LP and its parent company, the non-profit OpenAI Inc. The company was founded in 2015 by a group of technology leaders, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, and John Schulman. OpenAI's mission is to develop and promote friendly AI for the betterment of humanity. The company has developed a number of cutting-edge AI technologies, including GPT-3, a language processing system that can generate human-like text. OpenAI has received funding from a number of high-profile investors, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.
Learn more about OpenAI
Size
100 employees
Industry
Founded
2015

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