5+ years of experience in backend or infrastructure systems
Proficient in at least one major programming language (Python, Go, Rust, C++, Java)
Experience with distributed authorization and policy engines
Familiarity with global privacy regulations
Strong collaboration skills with cross-functional teams
Focus on practical solutions balancing privacy and product needs
Responsibilities
Design and operate backend services for policy-driven data access
Develop distributed authorization and identity-aware enforcement mechanisms
Implement auditability and compliance observability features
Collaborate with Security, Legal, and Compliance teams on technical designs
Harden data platforms with schema-level controls
Ensure consistent enforcement across systems with infrastructure teams
Contribute to patterns and libraries for trustworthy data access
Benefits
Opportunity to work on high-impact projects
Collaborative environment with cross-functional teams
Focus on data privacy and compliance
Hands-on role with significant responsibility
Potential for professional growth in a cutting-edge field
Full Job Description
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.
What You'll Do
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.
You Might Thrive in This Role If You Have
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 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.
