Proficient in a general-purpose programming language
Experience in backend development, full-stack applications, or data systems
Ability to clarify open-ended problems and deliver solutions
Strong communication skills for cross-disciplinary collaboration
Interest in AI systems and their associated risks
Familiarity with security, developer tools, or distributed systems is a plus
Responsibilities
Design, build, and maintain software for cybersecurity research
Develop tools and workflows for evaluations and result inspections
Build services, APIs, and data pipelines for researcher efficiency
Transform experimental workflows into reusable systems
Own projects from problem understanding to deployment
Enhance reliability, performance, and security as needs evolve
Collaborate with researchers and engineers to identify and solve problems
Benefits
Flexible work environment
Opportunities for professional development
Collaborative team culture
Access to cutting-edge technology
Engagement with impactful AI safety projects
Full Job Description
About the Role
We're looking for a Software Engineer to build the tools and infrastructure that support this work. You'll partner closely with researchers and other engineers to translate evolving questions into useful software-from early prototypes to systems that teams can depend on.
Projects may include backend services, evaluation infrastructure, data pipelines, and internal applications for running tests, investigating model behavior, and reviewing results. This is a general software engineering role with room to contribute across the stack and develop deeper expertise in AI safety and security.
In this role, you will:
Design, build, and maintain software that supports cybersecurity research, frontier-risk evaluations, and red teaming.
Develop tools and workflows that make it easier to run evaluations, inspect results, and investigate failures.
Build services, APIs, data pipelines, and interfaces that help researchers work efficiently.
Turn experimental workflows into reusable, well-tested, and documented systems.
Own projects from understanding the problem and designing a solution through implementation, deployment, and ongoing operation.
Improve reliability, performance, observability, security, and usability as needs evolve.
Collaborate with researchers, security specialists, and engineers to identify useful problems and make practical technical decisions.
You might thrive in this role if you:
Have strong software engineering fundamentals and experience building, shipping, and maintaining production software.
Are proficient in a general-purpose programming language and comfortable learning unfamiliar tools and systems.
Have experience in one or more areas such as backend development, full-stack applications, infrastructure, or data systems.
Can take an open-ended problem, clarify what matters, and deliver a useful solution.
Balance rapid iteration with maintainable design and operational reliability.
Communicate clearly and enjoy working with people across technical disciplines.
Are interested in understanding advanced AI systems and helping address their risks.
Experience with security, developer tools, research infrastructure, evaluation platforms, distributed systems, or AI applications would be valuable. Prior AI research or cybersecurity experience is helpful but not 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.
