OpenAI

Performance Modeling Engineer ~2

OpenAI$100K — $130K *
Technical Services
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 1-2 years of experience in software engineering, systems modeling, performance analysis, or related fields.
  • Strong programming skills and experience creating technical tools, scripts, or frameworks.
  • Understanding of system architecture basics including compute, memory, and networking.
  • Ability to analyze system performance, identify bottlenecks, and assess scaling behavior.
  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, particularly in quantitative contexts.
  • Quick learner with the ability to collaborate across technical teams.

Responsibilities

  • Support the development and maintenance of performance modeling tools and frameworks.
  • Build models to assess system behavior in compute, memory, networking, and interconnect subsystems.
  • Analyze scaling behavior in distributed systems and pinpoint performance bottlenecks.
  • Run simulations and analytical models to assist in architectural and infrastructural decisions.
  • Collaborate with senior engineers to review design tradeoffs across hardware and system components.
  • Analyze modeling outcomes and translate results into actionable recommendations.
  • Validate models with benchmarking data and actual system performance metrics.

Benefits

  • Hybrid work model requiring 3 days in the office per week.
  • Relocation assistance provided for new hires.
Full Job Description
About the Role

We are seeking an Performance Modeling Engineer to support the development and application of modeling tools used to evaluate AI system performance and inform architectural decisions.

In this role, you will partner closely with Senior Performance Modeling Engineers and the Performance Modeling Lead to analyze system behavior, run simulations and analytical models, and help evaluate tradeoffs across compute, memory, networking, and storage. You will contribute to building modeling frameworks while developing a strong foundation in system architecture and AI infrastructure.

This role is ideal for early-career engineers with 1-2 years of experience in software engineering, systems analysis, or performance modeling who are excited to grow in large-scale infrastructure and hardware/software systems.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance.

Key Responsibilities
  • Support the development and maintenance of performance modeling tools and frameworks
  • Assist in building models to evaluate system behavior across compute, memory, networking, and interconnect subsystems
  • Help analyze distributed system scaling behavior and identify performance bottlenecks
  • Run simulations and analytical models to support architecture and infrastructure decisions
  • Partner with senior engineers to evaluate design tradeoffs across hardware and system components
  • Interpret modeling outputs and help translate findings into clear recommendations
  • Validate models using benchmarking data and real system performance measurements
  • Improve modeling workflows, documentation, and usability for broader team adoption
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with hardware, infrastructure, and architecture teams
  • Continuously build technical depth across AI infrastructure, system architecture, and performance analysis

Qualifications
  • 1-2 years of experience in software engineering, systems modeling, performance analysis, or related technical work
  • Strong programming skills and experience building technical tools, scripts, or frameworks
  • Familiarity with system architecture fundamentals such as compute, memory, and networking
  • Ability to reason about system performance, bottlenecks, and scaling behavior
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with comfort working in quantitative environments
  • Ability to learn quickly and work effectively across technical teams

Preferred Skills
  • Exposure to AI/ML workloads, distributed systems, or large-scale infrastructure
  • Experience with simulation tools, benchmarking, profiling, or performance analysis
  • Familiarity with data center systems, server architecture, or hardware platforms
  • Interest in system architecture and hardware/software co-design
  • Internship or early professional experience in performance engineering, infrastructure, or systems design


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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