Backend Software Engineer, Applied Foundations

OpenAI’s Applications Engineering organization builds and operates the products (such as ChatGPT & Codex) that bring our cutting-edge research to millions of users and developers worldwide.

The Applied Foundations team owns the core product and platform layers that make those experiences possible — from identity & access, to safety to payments & commerce across all of our apps. Our teams span product engineering, infrastructure, and safety, working together to deliver technology that is reliable, secure, and trusted at global scale.

We’re hiring Backend Software Engineers to design and implement safe services and infrastructure that power our core products.

* Architect, build, and improve scalable backend systems and APIs.

* Drive performance, reliability, and safety across distributed services.

* Implement data storage, retrieval, compute, and integration solutions.

* Participate in long-term architectural planning and technical design reviews.

* Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design solutions that protect against and mitigate adversarial attacks without compromising user experience.

You Might Thrive Here If You:

* Have strong experience with distributed systems, APIs, and backend languages (e.g., Go, Python, Rust, C++).

* Have experience setting up and maintaining production backend services and data pipelines.

* Have a humble attitude, an eagerness to help your colleagues, and a desire to do whatever it takes to make the team succeed.

* Enjoy building resilient services that handle large scale and complexity.

* Are self-directed and enjoy figuring out the best way to solve a particular problem

* Own problems end-to-end, and are willing to pick up whatever knowledge you're missing to get the job done.

* $266K – $445K • Offers Equity

The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. If the role is non-exempt, overtime pay will be provided consistent with applicable laws. In addition to the salary range listed above, total compensation also includes generous equity, performance-related bonus(es) for eligible employees, and the following benefits.

* Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts

* Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)

* 401(k) retirement plan with employer match

* Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)

* Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees

* 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)

* Mental health and wellness support

* Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage

* Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth

* Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible

* Relocation support for eligible employees

* Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.

More details about our benefits are available to candidates during the hiring process.

This role is at-will and OpenAI reserves the right to modify base pay and other compensation components at any time based on individual performance, team or company results, or market conditions.

Apply for this Job