Full Stack Staff+ Software Engineer, Consumer Monetization

Full Stack Engineer · Staff · Full Time

San FranciscoUSD 266k – 445k1mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Lead the monetization platform and purchasing experiences across OpenAI's consumer products as a Staff+ Full Stack Engineer. You'll architect end-to-end checkout systems, APIs, and shared billing components while combining technical depth with strong product judgment. This hands-on technical leadership role requires demonstrated Staff-level ownership, sophisticated full-stack development experience, and a track record of shipping customer-facing products from conception through production iteration.

Responsibilities

  • Architect End-to-End Purchasing Experiences: Design and build complete checkout flows spanning frontend interactions, product APIs, and backend integrations. Ensure seamless customer experiences from product selection through payment processing, payment gateway integration, and order confirmation across web platforms.
  • Optimize Checkout Conversion and Performance: Improve checkout conversion rates, page performance metrics, and system reliability through rigorous experimentation, A/B testing, product analytics, and customer insights. Drive measurable business outcomes through data-driven optimization and technical refinement.
  • Develop Shared Monetization Capabilities: Build reusable checkout components, billing systems, and monetization infrastructure that support multiple products, pricing models, offers, and distribution channels. Establish architectural patterns that accelerate future product launches and ensure consistency across the platform.
  • Lead Cross-Functional Technical Initiatives: Partner with Product, Design, Growth, and Data Science teams to identify opportunities, define experiments, and evaluate results. Lead initiatives from early exploration and prototyping through implementation, production rollout, and ongoing operational support.
  • Shape Technical Architecture and Standards: Make strategic decisions on frontend architecture, API design patterns, and system scalability. Balance immediate delivery requirements with long-term maintainability, code reusability, and platform reliability across multiple products and teams.
  • Provide Technical Leadership Through Hands-On Development: Conduct design reviews, provide mentorship to engineering team members, and contribute substantial hands-on development. Help engineers develop stronger technical judgment and take on broader ownership of complex systems and features.
  • Navigate Complex Requirements Across Functions: Work effectively across engineering teams, Product, Finance, and business functions to translate complex compliance, regulatory, and business requirements into simple, effective customer experiences. Move projects forward in ambiguous environments without fully defined roadmaps.

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Full-Stack Web Development

    Demonstrated expertise building sophisticated web applications with strong frontend and backend capabilities. Proficiency in designing and implementing product APIs that power customer-facing experiences, with deep understanding of how API architecture affects performance and UX.

  • Payment Systems and E-Commerce Infrastructure

    Experience with payment processing systems, gateway integrations (Stripe, PayPal, Square), subscription billing systems, and e-commerce platforms. Understanding of PCI compliance, security best practices, and checkout system design patterns.

  • Database Design and Optimization

    Strong database design skills including schema optimization, query performance tuning, and understanding of relational and potentially non-relational databases at scale. Experience handling transactional integrity and data consistency in payment systems.

  • API Architecture and Design

    Expertise in RESTful API design, GraphQL, or similar paradigms. Understanding of API versioning, backwards compatibility, rate limiting, caching strategies, and designing APIs that scale across multiple products and client types.

  • Frontend Performance and UX Engineering

    Deep understanding of frontend performance optimization, browser rendering, Core Web Vitals, and how technical decisions affect user experience. Experience with responsive design, accessibility standards, and checkout flow optimization.

  • Data-Driven Development and Experimentation

    Proven ability to use analytics, product data, and A/B testing to drive technical and product decisions. Comfort designing experiments, instrumenting code for measurement, and iterating based on customer behavior data.

Education

  • Computer Science or Related Field

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience demonstrating strong computer science fundamentals.

Experience

  • Staff-Level Technical Ownership

    Demonstrated technical leadership at Staff level or beyond with proven ability to shape system architecture, influence technical direction, and deliver substantial initiatives across multiple teams. Track record of mentoring engineers and establishing technical standards.

  • Customer-Facing Product Development

    Multiple examples of taking customer-facing products from ambiguous ideas through production deployment and ongoing iteration. Experience navigating the full product lifecycle including ideation, design, implementation, launch, and post-launch optimization.

  • E-Commerce, Growth, or Monetization Background

    Valuable background in e-commerce platforms, growth engineering, checkout optimization, subscription systems, offers management, or broader monetization strategy. Experience with pricing models, promotional systems, and revenue optimization.

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration

    Proven ability to work effectively across Product, Design, Data Science, and business functions. Experience communicating technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and moving work forward in ambiguous environments.

  • Hands-On Development at Scale

    Continued hands-on engineering while operating at Staff level. Ability to balance code reviews, mentorship, and architecture decisions with substantial personal implementation contribution on critical projects.

Skills

Required

  • Python

    Server-side development, API implementation, and backend services. Python is widely used for OpenAI's infrastructure and product backends.

  • JavaScript/TypeScript

    Frontend development with modern frameworks and type safety. Essential for building sophisticated checkout interfaces and interactive user experiences.

  • React or Similar Modern Frontend Framework

    Production experience building complex, performant user interfaces with state management, component architecture, and optimization techniques.

  • SQL and Database Design

    Proficiency with relational databases, query optimization, schema design, and transactions. Critical for payment systems requiring ACID compliance and data integrity.

  • API Design and Integration

    Experience designing RESTful APIs or GraphQL schemas, integrating third-party payment processors, and building systems that scale across multiple consumer products.

  • System Architecture and Scalability

    Understanding of distributed systems, caching strategies, load balancing, and architectural patterns needed to support high-traffic, mission-critical checkout and billing systems.

Preferred

  • Payment Processing Systems

    Nice to have

    Direct experience integrating with payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, or similar providers. Understanding of PCI compliance and payment security protocols.

  • Subscription and Billing Systems

    Nice to have

    Background building or scaling recurring billing platforms, handling subscription lifecycle management, dunning, and customer billing complexity.

  • A/B Testing and Experimentation Frameworks

    Nice to have

    Experience designing experiments, implementing feature flags, statistical analysis of A/B tests, and using experimentation to drive product decisions.

  • Growth Engineering

    Nice to have

    Background in growth-focused engineering roles optimizing conversion funnels, improving user acquisition, and driving business metrics through technical leverage.

  • GraphQL

    Nice to have

    Production experience with GraphQL for API design and client data fetching, enabling flexible queries across complex monetization data models.

  • Cloud Infrastructure

    Nice to have

    Familiarity with cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure. Experience with containerization, microservices deployment, and infrastructure as code.

  • Observability and Monitoring

    Nice to have

    Experience implementing comprehensive logging, metrics, tracing, and alerting systems to ensure reliability of critical payment infrastructure.

Tech stack

Languages

PythonJavaScript/TypeScriptSQL

Frameworks

ReactNext.jsFastAPI or DjangoGraphQL

Databases

PostgreSQLRedisElasticsearch

Tools

Stripe APIGit and GitHubDataDog or New RelicJira and Confluence

Other

REST API DesignEvent-Driven ArchitectureA/B Testing Frameworks

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 266,000 – 445,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Competitive Equity Package

    Substantial stock options aligned with OpenAI's growth trajectory and mission. Equity vests over a standard four-year schedule with a one-year cliff, providing long-term value participation.

  • Comprehensive Health Coverage

    Medical, dental, and vision insurance with low employee contribution rates. Coverage extends to dependents and includes preventive care, specialized treatments, and mental health support.

  • Retirement Benefits

    401(k) retirement plan with employer matching contributions. Employees can save for long-term retirement with potential company-matched funds and tax advantages.

  • Unlimited Paid Time Off

    Flexible vacation policy with no preset limit. Employees are encouraged to take time off for rest, travel, and personal development while maintaining work responsibilities.

  • Parental Leave

    Generous paid parental leave for birth, adoption, and family bonding. Supports employees during significant life events with continued income and benefits.

  • Professional Development

    Learning budgets, conference attendance stipends, and access to technical courses. Support for continuous skill development and staying current with emerging technologies.

  • Equipment and Tools

    Top-tier computing equipment, development tools, and software licenses needed for productive engineering work. Home office stipend for remote work setup optimization.

  • Wellness Programs

    Gym memberships, wellness resources, mental health support, and company-wide fitness initiatives. Commitment to employee physical and mental well-being.

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening Call

    30-minute conversation with a recruiter focused on background, career progression, and interest in the Consumer Monetization team. Discuss experience with payment systems, e-commerce, or growth engineering backgrounds. Recruiter evaluates cultural fit and core technical experience.

  2. 02

    Technical Architecture Interview

    60-90 minute deep-dive with a staff-level engineer on system design and architecture. Expected to discuss experiences building checkout systems, payment infrastructure, or complex distributed systems. Demonstrate ability to make tradeoffs between performance, reliability, and development velocity.

  3. 03

    Full-Stack Development Discussion

    60 minute interview covering both frontend and backend development expertise. Discuss concrete projects demonstrating full-stack capabilities, performance optimization, API design decisions, and handling of complex requirements. May include code review or technical problem-solving.

  4. 04

    Product and Data-Driven Decision Making

    60 minute conversation with a product or growth-focused engineer. Discuss experience using experimentation, analytics, and customer insights to drive technical decisions. Walk through specific examples of shipping products, measuring impact, and iterating based on data.

  5. 05

    Cross-Functional Collaboration and Leadership

    60 minute interview with a team lead or product manager assessing ability to work across functions and lead initiatives. Discuss experiences navigating ambiguous requirements, communicating with non-technical stakeholders, mentoring teammates, and moving complex projects forward.

  6. 06

    Executive Conversation

    30-45 minute conversation with engineering leadership to discuss vision, growth philosophy, and alignment on monetization strategy. Explore interest in shaping the long-term technical direction of OpenAI's consumer-facing systems.

Full posting

Original listing.

About the Team

Consumer Monetization builds the experiences and systems that power how customers purchase and pay for OpenAI products. Our scope spans purchasing flows, payments, subscriptions, and billing, along with the shared capabilities that support new products, offers, and distribution channels.

We own both customer-facing experiences and the underlying platforms that power them. We partner closely with Product, Design, Growth, Data Science, and engineering teams across OpenAI to make purchasing effective and reliable, and new offerings easier to launch and monetize.

About the Role

We’re looking for experienced Staff+ full-stack engineers to shape purchasing experiences and monetization capabilities across OpenAI products.

You’ll work across web experiences, product APIs, and shared components, combining strong product judgment with technical depth. The work ranges from improving checkout conversion and performance to enabling new pricing models, offers, and ways for customers to purchase our products.

You’ll help identify opportunities, turn ambiguous goals into concrete technical plans, and lead initiatives from exploration through launch. As patterns emerge across products, you’ll develop reusable capabilities that make future launches faster and more consistent.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role with substantial ownership over architecture, implementation, and product outcomes.

This role is based in San Francisco, with three days per week in the office.

In this role, you will:

  • Architect and build purchasing experiences end to end, from frontend interactions through the product APIs and backend integrations that support them.

  • Improve checkout conversion, performance, and reliability through experimentation, product analytics, and customer insights.

  • Develop shared checkout components and monetization capabilities that support new products, pricing models, offers, and distribution channels.

  • Partner with Product, Design, Growth, and Data Science to identify opportunities, define experiments, and evaluate results.

  • Lead initiatives from early exploration and prototyping through implementation, rollout, and ongoing operation.

  • Shape frontend and product API architecture, balancing immediate delivery with maintainability and reuse across products.

  • Work across engineering teams and business functions to turn complex requirements into simple, effective customer experiences.

  • Provide technical leadership through hands-on development, design reviews, and mentorship.

You might thrive in this role if you:

  • Have demonstrated technical ownership at Staff level or beyond, shaping architecture and delivering substantial initiatives across teams.

  • Have strong experience building sophisticated web applications and the backend APIs that power them.

  • Have repeatedly taken customer-facing products from ambiguous ideas through production and ongoing iteration.

  • Understand how frontend performance, latency, interaction design, and API architecture affect customer experience and business outcomes.

  • Combine strong product instincts with experience using experimentation and A/B testing to decide what to build and measure its impact.

  • Make pragmatic tradeoffs between shipping quickly and investing in reliable, reusable systems.

  • Communicate clearly across functions and can move work forward without a fully defined roadmap.

  • Enjoy hands-on engineering while helping other engineers develop their judgment and take on broader ownership.

Experience in e-commerce, growth, checkout, subscriptions, offers, or monetization is particularly valuable. Direct payments experience is helpful but not required.

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.

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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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