iOS Engineer, ChatGPT Mobile Infrastructure

iOS Engineer · Staff · Full Time

San FranciscoUSD 185k – 385k4mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

OpenAI is seeking a Staff+ iOS Engineer to build and scale the core Swift platform infrastructure powering ChatGPT, Atlas, Sora, and other AI applications. This role focuses on developing foundational frameworks, improving app performance, and creating tools that enable hundreds of engineers to develop new AI capabilities rapidly and reliably.

Responsibilities

  • Platform Architecture: Build and evolve foundational Swift frameworks used across multiple apps including caching, state management, observability, navigation, and component systems
  • Performance Optimization: Improve app performance in startup time, responsiveness, memory usage, and battery efficiency through profiling, visibility tools, and regression prevention
  • Reliability Engineering: Strengthen app reliability by systematically reducing crashes, improving error handling, and driving release process improvements
  • Cross-Team Collaboration: Embed with product engineering teams to understand pain points and identify emerging infrastructure needs across the organization
  • Developer Tooling: Develop internal tooling and automation including Bazel build systems, CI/CD pipelines, testing frameworks, and AI-powered development tools
  • API Design: Translate complex real-world constraints into clean abstractions with simple APIs, enforceable contracts, and safe defaults
  • Technical Leadership: Drive cross-team execution, align on technical interfaces, and navigate architectural tradeoffs across multiple product teams
  • Quality Assurance: Implement automated testing strategies, code review processes, and quality gates to maintain high standards across the platform

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • iOS Development Expertise

    Strong fundamentals in Swift, concurrency patterns, networking, and the complete Xcode ecosystem

  • UI Framework Proficiency

    Deep knowledge of UIKit and SwiftUI for building scalable user interfaces

  • Platform Engineering Experience

    Proven track record with frameworks, architecture design, performance optimization, and developer tools

  • System Design Skills

    Ability to design and implement large-scale mobile infrastructure solutions

  • Performance Engineering

    Experience with app profiling, memory management, and optimization techniques

Education

  • Computer Science Degree

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

Experience

  • Staff-Level Experience

    8+ years of iOS development experience with demonstrated leadership in platform engineering

  • Large-Scale Mobile Development

    Experience working on mobile applications with millions of users and complex technical requirements

  • Cross-Team Leadership

    Proven ability to drive technical initiatives across multiple engineering teams and stakeholders

  • AI/ML Integration

    Experience integrating machine learning models and AI capabilities into mobile applications (preferred)

Skills

Required

  • Swift Programming

    Expert-level Swift development including modern language features and best practices

  • iOS SDK Mastery

    Deep understanding of iOS frameworks, APIs, and platform capabilities

  • Concurrency Programming

    Advanced knowledge of async/await, actors, and concurrent programming patterns

  • Performance Analysis

    Proficiency with Instruments and other performance profiling tools

  • Build Systems

    Experience with Bazel, Xcode build configurations, and CI/CD automation

  • System Architecture

    Ability to design scalable, maintainable mobile platform architectures

Preferred

  • AI/ML Frameworks

    Nice to have

    Experience with Core ML, TensorFlow Lite, or other on-device machine learning frameworks

  • Cross-Platform Development

    Nice to have

    Knowledge of React Native, Flutter, or other cross-platform mobile technologies

  • Backend Integration

    Nice to have

    Understanding of RESTful APIs, GraphQL, and mobile-backend communication patterns

  • Security Best Practices

    Nice to have

    Knowledge of iOS security features, encryption, and secure coding practices

  • Accessibility Engineering

    Nice to have

    Experience implementing comprehensive accessibility features in iOS applications

Tech stack

Languages

SwiftObjective-C

Frameworks

UIKitSwiftUICombineFoundation

Tools

XcodeBazelCI/CD SystemsInstrumentsTestFlight

Other

Core AnimationMetalNetwork.frameworkGrand Central Dispatch

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 185,000 – 385,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Equity Compensation

    Significant equity participation in one of the world's leading AI companies

  • Comprehensive Health Insurance

    Full medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents

  • Professional Development

    Access to cutting-edge AI research, conferences, and continuous learning opportunities

  • Flexible Work Arrangements

    Hybrid work options with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Seattle

  • Retirement Benefits

    401(k) matching and comprehensive retirement planning support

  • Parental Leave

    Generous parental leave policies supporting work-life balance

  • Wellness Programs

    Mental health support, fitness benefits, and employee wellness initiatives

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening

    Phone or video call with recruiting team to discuss background, experience, and role alignment

  2. 02

    Technical Phone Screen

    45-60 minute technical interview focusing on iOS development fundamentals, Swift programming, and system design

  3. 03

    Take-Home Assignment

    Practical coding exercise demonstrating iOS platform engineering skills and architectural thinking

  4. 04

    Onsite Interview Loop

    Full-day interview including technical deep-dives, system design, behavioral questions, and team fit assessment

  5. 05

    Final Interview

    Senior leadership interview focusing on technical vision, leadership potential, and cultural alignment with OpenAI's mission

Full posting

Original listing.

About the Team

We’re building up the core Swift platform, from architecture to CI, that enables hundreds of engineers (and their agents) to develop new capabilities in ChatGPT, Atlas, Sora, and other rapidly evolving apps. Our focus is helping teams move quickly while improving on performance or reliability.

About the Role

We’re hiring Staff+ engineers with a variety of iOS platform backgrounds, including people who may specialize in performance, build/CI, or AI developer productivity. Whether you focus on UI frameworks or automated testing, your work will show up as less friction, less complexity, fewer regressions, and better performance.

If you're rethinking how to scale Swift development in the context of increasingly capable AI tools, this is the role for you.

We are hiring in San Francisco, New York and Seattle.

In this role, you may:

  • Build and evolve foundational Swift frameworks used across multiple apps and platforms (caching, state management, observability, navigation, component systems).

  • Improve app performance (startup, responsiveness, memory, battery) through profiling, visibility, regression prevention, or architecture patterns.

  • Strengthen reliability: systemically reduce crashes, improve error handling, or drive release process improvements.

  • Embed with product engineering teams in order to understand pain points or emerging infrastructure needs.

  • Develop internal tooling and automation (Bazel, CI, testing, guardrails, Codex agent skills and systems) that increase engineering velocity.

  • Translate messy real-world constraints into clean abstractions: simple APIs, enforceable contracts, safe defaults.

You might thrive in this role if you:

  • Have strong iOS engineering fundamentals (Swift, concurrency, networking, Xcode ecosystem, some UIKit/SwiftUI) and are familiar with the latest features and practices.

  • Gravitate towards platform problems: frameworks, architecture, performance, or tools that empower and accelerate others.

  • Take ownership: continually identify the biggest risks/opportunities, drive projects to completion, and update quickly.

  • Care about measurement: instrument, define metrics, run experiments, and iterate based on data.

  • Have strong communication and collaboration skills—aligning on interfaces, navigating tradeoffs, and driving cross-team execution.

  • Tend to think in systems, fight entropy, and enjoy an ambiguous challenge.

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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