Android Engineer, Monetization

Android Engineer · Senior · Full Time

SeattleUSD 325k – 385k5mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

OpenAI's Monetization team seeks a Senior Android Engineer to build foundational mobile experiences for user onboarding, account management, payments, and monetization systems. This greenfield role involves developing reusable Android frameworks and integrations that support OpenAI's mobile ecosystem at global scale, requiring expertise in Kotlin, Android architecture, and commerce systems.

Responsibilities

  • Monetization Platform Development: Build and ship comprehensive monetization experiences on Android including plan selection, purchase flows, subscription management, entitlements, and policy-aware UX patterns
  • Shared Framework Architecture: Design and maintain shared Android frameworks and primitives for account, trust, and commerce flows used across OpenAI's mobile applications including auth/session, entitlements, checkout abstractions, and safety gates
  • End-to-End System Ownership: Own complex Android systems spanning UI architecture, networking, local persistence/state management, observability, and release processes with full accountability for system performance
  • Platform Integration Development: Build robust integrations with Android platform and ecosystem components including Google Play Billing, authentication systems, device security signals, deep links, and push notification services
  • Performance Optimization: Optimize application performance, reliability, and responsiveness at global scale focusing on startup time, rendering performance, network resiliency, battery efficiency, and crash-free session rates
  • Quality Assurance Systems: Establish and evolve comprehensive testing and quality systems including unit/integration/UI tests, CI reliability improvements, automated regression testing, and release validation processes
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with Product, Design, Research, backend engineering, and Safety teams to deliver features meeting OpenAI's highest standards for safety, privacy, fairness, and policy compliance
  • Technical Leadership: Provide technical leadership through architecture reviews, mentoring junior engineers, and establishing engineering standards across the Android foundations surface area

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Android Development Expertise

    4+ years of professional software engineering experience with substantial Android ownership and production application development

  • Kotlin Proficiency

    Advanced fluency in Kotlin programming language with deep understanding of language features and best practices

  • Android Architecture Mastery

    Comprehensive knowledge of Android tooling, architecture patterns, Gradle build system, Android Studio IDE, and modern development practices

  • Production Application Experience

    Proven track record of building and shipping high-quality Android applications in production environments, especially for reliability- and trust-sensitive flows like identity management and payment systems

  • System Architecture Skills

    Ability to make pragmatic architectural tradeoffs while maintaining system maintainability, testability, and scalability in complex mobile environments

Education

  • Computer Science Background

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience in mobile development

  • Mobile Development Specialization

    Specialized knowledge in mobile application development with focus on Android platform and ecosystem

Experience

  • Commerce System Development

    Experience building payment flows, subscription management, and monetization systems with focus on security and compliance

  • Greenfield Development

    Thrives in 0→1 environments where systems, architecture, and user experiences must be defined from scratch with minimal existing infrastructure

  • Performance-Critical Applications

    Experience optimizing mobile applications for performance, security, privacy, and user experience with high standards for polish and reliability

  • Cross-Platform Integration

    Experience with backend service integration, API design, and cross-platform system architecture in mobile environments

Skills

Required

  • Kotlin Programming

    Advanced proficiency in Kotlin for Android development with deep understanding of coroutines and modern language features

  • Android SDK

    Comprehensive knowledge of Android SDK, platform APIs, and development frameworks

  • Jetpack Compose

    Experience with modern Android UI development using Jetpack Compose and declarative UI patterns

  • Android Architecture

    Expertise in MVVM, MVP, or Clean Architecture patterns with Android Architecture Components

  • Google Play Integration

    Experience with Google Play Billing, in-app purchases, and subscription management systems

  • Performance Optimization

    Skills in mobile performance optimization, memory management, and battery efficiency

  • Security Implementation

    Understanding of mobile security best practices, encryption, and secure payment processing

  • Testing Frameworks

    Proficiency with Android testing frameworks including Espresso, JUnit, and automated testing strategies

Preferred

  • GraphQL

    Nice to have

    Experience with GraphQL for efficient API data fetching and caching strategies

  • Firebase Services

    Nice to have

    Knowledge of Firebase authentication, analytics, crash reporting, and push notification services

  • CI/CD Pipelines

    Nice to have

    Experience with continuous integration and deployment pipelines for Android applications

  • Reactive Programming

    Nice to have

    Understanding of RxJava or Kotlin Flow for reactive programming patterns

  • Cross-Platform Development

    Nice to have

    Familiarity with cross-platform development approaches and native bridge implementations

  • AI/ML Integration

    Nice to have

    Experience integrating AI/ML models or services into mobile applications

  • Accessibility

    Nice to have

    Knowledge of Android accessibility best practices and inclusive design principles

  • Leadership Experience

    Nice to have

    Technical leadership experience including mentoring, architecture reviews, and engineering standards development

Tech stack

Languages

KotlinJava

Frameworks

Jetpack ComposeAndroid JetpackAndroid Architecture Components

Databases

RoomSQLite

Tools

Android StudioGradleGoogle Play BillingFirebase

Other

REST APIsGraphQLCI/CD PipelineCoroutines

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 325,000 – 385,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Equity Compensation

    Stock options and equity participation in OpenAI's growth and success

  • Competitive Salary

    Industry-leading compensation package ranging from $325K to $385K annually

  • Health Insurance

    Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage

  • Professional Development

    Opportunities for continuous learning, conference attendance, and skill development in cutting-edge AI technologies

  • Flexible Work Environment

    Modern office facilities in Seattle with collaborative workspaces and state-of-the-art development tools

  • Mission-Driven Work

    Opportunity to work on technology that benefits humanity and shapes the future of artificial intelligence

  • Equal Opportunity Employment

    Inclusive workplace committed to diversity and equal opportunity for all employees

  • Reasonable Accommodations

    Commitment to providing accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Application Review

    Initial screening of resume, portfolio, and GitHub projects focusing on Android development experience and code quality

  2. 02

    Technical Phone Screen

    45-60 minute technical interview covering Android fundamentals, Kotlin programming, and system design concepts

  3. 03

    Take-Home Assignment

    Practical coding exercise building a small Android application demonstrating monetization flow implementation, architecture design, and testing practices

  4. 04

    Technical Deep Dive

    2-hour technical interview including code review of take-home project, system design discussion for mobile architecture, and problem-solving scenarios

  5. 05

    Cross-Functional Interview

    Behavioral interview with Product and Design team members focusing on collaboration skills, user-centric thinking, and experience in fast-paced environments

  6. 06

    Final Interview

    Meeting with engineering leadership covering technical vision, architecture philosophy, and cultural fit within OpenAI's mission-driven environment

  7. 07

    Reference Check

    Professional reference verification and background check process in accordance with applicable laws and OpenAI's security requirements

Full posting

Original listing.

About the Team

The Monetization team is a new cross-functional group working across engineering, product, research, and design to build the foundational systems that will help OpenAI scale access to intelligence responsibly. Our mission is to develop user-first, privacy-preserving monetization products, including next-generation ads experiences that strengthen user trust, unlock economic opportunity, and support OpenAI’s long-term innovation.

Monetization plays a critical role in enabling OpenAI to continue pushing the boundaries of AI capabilities while ensuring the benefits of AGI are broadly shared. We believe monetization must be aligned with user value, uphold rigorous privacy and safety standards, and sustain a healthy ecosystem of developers and businesses.

This team operates in a greenfield environment and moves quickly through prototyping, experimentation, and iterative deployment. We partner closely with Product, Design, and Research to bring research breakthroughs into real-world systems at global scale.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Senior Android Engineer on OpenAI’s Applied team to build the core mobile experiences that power how users sign up, manage their account, use family features, pay for services, stay safe, and interact with OpenAI’s products with confidence.

This role is about building high-quality products and reusable Android foundations that product teams across OpenAI apps depend on to ship quickly while meeting the highest standards for security, reliability, privacy, and user trust. You’ll own complex client-side systems spanning UI, networking, local state, payments, and Android platform integrations, and you’ll work closely with backend, product, and safety partners to shape the architecture that supports OpenAI’s mobile ecosystem at global scale.

In this role, you will

  • Build and ship monetization experiences on Android (e.g., plan selection, purchase flows, subscription management, entitlements, and policy-aware UX patterns).

  • Design and maintain shared Android frameworks and primitives for account, trust, and commerce flows used across OpenAI’s mobile apps (auth/session, entitlements, checkout abstractions, safety gates, etc.).

  • Own complex Android systems end-to-end across UI architecture, networking, local persistence/state, observability, and release processes.

  • Build robust integrations with Android platform and ecosystem components (e.g., Google Play Billing, authentication, device security signals, deep links, push).

  • Optimize performance, reliability, and responsiveness at global scale (startup time, rendering, network resiliency, battery, crash-free sessions).

  • Establish and evolve testing and quality systems (unit/integration/UI tests, CI reliability, automated regression, release validation).

  • Collaborate with Product, Design, Research, backend, and Safety to deliver features that meet OpenAI’s highest standards for safety, privacy, fairness, and policy compliance.

  • Provide technical leadership through architecture reviews, mentoring, and setting engineering standards across the Android foundations surface.

You might thrive in this role if you

  • Have 4+ years of professional software engineering experience with meaningful Android ownership.

  • Have a track record of building and shipping high-quality Android applications in production (especially for reliability- and trust-sensitive flows like identity and payments).

  • Are fluent in Kotlin and comfortable with Android tooling and architecture (Gradle, Android Studio, modern app architecture patterns, Jetpack Compose).

  • Enjoy making pragmatic architectural tradeoffs while keeping systems maintainable, testable, and scalable.

  • Care deeply about performance, security, privacy, and user experience, and you bring a high bar for polish.

  • Thrive in 0→1 environments where systems, architecture, and user experiences must be defined from scratch.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.

OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy

At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.

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