OpenAI

Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering - London

OpenAI3 months ago
Location

London, UK

Type

Full Time

Salary

GBP 180,000 – 280,000

Level

Manager

Role

Engineering Manager

Posted

Apr 23, 2026

Full TimeManager

The role

Summary

Lead OpenAI's Forward Deployed Engineering team in London, managing high-performing engineers who turn frontier AI research into production systems for enterprise customers. This role requires 8+ years of technical leadership experience with deep full-stack development capabilities in Python or JavaScript, combining hands-on engineering expertise with strategic team management to influence product roadmap priorities and drive safe AI deployment at scale.

What you'll do

Lead Forward Deployed Engineering Team: Build, mentor, and expand a team of FDEs who deliver production-grade systems with frontier AI models into customer environments. Establish team culture around technical excellence, operational rigor, and customer success while ensuring team members develop professionally within a high-performance delivery context.
Own End-to-End Delivery Outcomes: Drive complete ownership of customer deployment projects from conception through production, ensuring clarity in technical requirements, speed in execution, tight cross-functional coordination, and unwavering focus on quality. Make critical decisions under pressure while maintaining high standards for system architecture, code quality, and customer satisfaction.
Create Scalable Tools, Playbooks, and Frameworks: Codify successful deployment patterns, technical approaches, and operational processes into reusable tools and playbooks. Document best practices and lessons learned to create organizational leverage for both OpenAI's internal teams and the broader developer community building with frontier AI models.
Generate Strategic Signal for Product and Research: Translate field experience into sharp, actionable feedback for OpenAI's Product and Research teams. Identify early indicators of product gaps, customer needs, deployment challenges, and market opportunities. Raise urgent issues with clarity and strategic context to inform roadmap priorities and guide safe scaling of AI capabilities.
Establish Performance Standards and Team Development: Set high performance expectations for the FDE team while providing direct, constructive feedback to support individual growth. Create clear metrics for delivery success, technical quality, and customer impact. Develop coaching and feedback mechanisms that help engineers accelerate their technical and leadership capabilities.
Define Field Team Staffing and Support Models: Design scalable approaches to staffing, supporting, and organizing field teams that grow without adding organizational complexity. Make strategic decisions about team structure, skill composition, and support systems to enable consistent delivery excellence across customer engagements.
Cross-Functional Partnership and Stakeholder Alignment: Work closely with Product, Research, Sales, and Go-To-Market teams to ensure fieldwork drives product direction, informs research priorities, and supports efficient customer acquisition and retention. Build trust and alignment across functions while advocating for customer needs within OpenAI's roadmap.
Travel and Customer-Facing Responsibilities: Spend up to 25% of time traveling to customer sites and offices to stay connected to deployment realities, support field teams in high-stakes situations, and build direct relationships with key customers. Maintain presence in London office 3 days per week under hybrid work arrangement.

What we look for

Technical

Production-Grade Full-Stack DevelopmentHands-on ability to code in Python and JavaScript across full-stack applications. Must be capable of architecting systems, writing secure production code, and conducting technical code reviews for full-stack teams.
API Design and IntegrationExperience designing, building, and integrating with complex APIs, particularly those serving AI/ML models or other frontier technology systems. Understanding of API architecture patterns, error handling, and scaling considerations.
System Architecture and ScalabilityProven ability to architect systems designed for scale, reliability, and performance. Experience with production deployment patterns, monitoring, logging, and operational excellence practices.
Ambiguous Problem Solving and Decision MakingCapability to simplify complex technical and business problems, make sound decisions with incomplete information, and operate effectively in rapidly evolving environments. Demonstrated judgment in distinguishing signal from noise.
Team Leadership and Performance ManagementTechnical leadership skills including mentoring, code review practices, establishing standards, and driving team performance through clarity and communication rather than process overhead.

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or Related FieldStrong foundation in computer science principles, algorithms, and systems thinking. Equivalent professional experience may be considered in lieu of formal degree.

Experience

8+ Years Engineering and Technical Delivery ExperienceDemonstrate extensive background in hands-on software engineering, technical leadership, or customer-focused delivery roles. Must show progression from individual contributor through senior technical roles with increasing responsibility for complex systems.
2+ Years Managing Forward-Deployed or Customer-Facing EngineersProven track record leading technical teams, customer engineering teams, or professional services engineering organizations. Experience managing engineers who work directly with customers in production or deployment contexts, navigating ambiguity and high-pressure situations.
Led High-Pressure Technical Projects from Prototype to ProductionDemonstrated ability to shepherd complex technical initiatives through full lifecycle from conception through prototype phases to stable production deployment. Evidence of maintaining quality and delivering results under deadline pressure and ambiguous requirements.
Full-Stack Development in Python or JavaScriptStrong, actively-maintained capabilities in writing and reviewing production-grade code across frontend and backend systems. Hands-on familiarity with both Python and JavaScript ecosystems, demonstrating depth in multiple technology domains.

Skills

Required skills

PythonProduction-grade Python development for backend systems, API services, and data processing pipelines supporting AI/ML deployments.
JavaScriptFull-stack JavaScript capabilities including frontend frameworks and Node.js backend development for customer-facing applications.
System ArchitectureAbility to design, document, and communicate complex system architectures supporting enterprise production deployments.
Technical LeadershipProven ability to lead technical teams, make architectural decisions, and drive technical excellence through mentorship and clear standards.
Customer-Centric Problem SolvingFocus on understanding customer needs deeply and translating requirements into technical solutions under time and resource constraints.
Cross-Functional CommunicationAbility to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, Product teams, and Research organizations with clarity and strategic framing.

Nice to have

AI/ML Systems ExperienceBackground deploying machine learning or AI systems in production environments, with understanding of model serving, prompt engineering, or generative AI applications.
Frontier Technology DeploymentExperience introducing cutting-edge or rapidly-evolving technology into customer environments, managing uncertainty and technical complexity.
Developer Relations or DevTools ExperienceBackground in developer relations, developer tools engineering, or building solutions that serve developer communities. Experience creating SDKs, CLIs, or framework integrations.
Sales Engineering or Solutions ArchitectureExperience in customer-facing technical roles including presales engineering, solutions architecture, or professional services engineering leadership.
Incident Response and Operational ExcellenceStrong background in incident response, operational resilience, and scaling systems at production scale with high reliability requirements.
Startup or High-Growth Environment ExperienceBackground scaling technical teams and systems in fast-moving, resource-constrained environments where ambiguity is high and decisions must be made quickly.

Compensation & benefits

Salary

GBP 180,000 – 280,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity and Stock Options

Competitive equity grants as part of OpenAI's standard compensation package, aligning team interests with company success in the rapidly-growing AI sector.

Relocation Assistance

Comprehensive support for relocating to London, including assistance with visa sponsorship, housing, and integration into the UK office community.

Hybrid Work Model

Flexible hybrid arrangement requiring 3 days per week in London office, with autonomy for remote work on focused technical tasks while maintaining team collaboration.

Professional Development and Learning

Investment in continuous learning, conference attendance, and professional certifications to maintain cutting-edge knowledge in AI systems and software engineering.

Comprehensive Health and Wellness Coverage

UK-based health insurance, dental coverage, vision benefits, mental health support, and wellness programs for you and your family.

Pension and Retirement Benefits

Competitive pension contributions and retirement planning support to ensure long-term financial security.

Travel Allowances and Expenses

Full coverage of business travel expenses for up to 25% travel requirement to customer sites, including flights, accommodation, and meals.

Parental Leave and Family Support

Generous parental leave policies and family-friendly benefits supporting work-life balance for team members with families.

Paid Time Off

Competitive vacation days and flexible time-off policies supporting employee wellbeing and preventing burnout.

Team Events and Community

Regular team-building events, all-hands gatherings, and community activities fostering connection and collaboration across OpenAI's London office.

Interview process

  1. 1
    Initial Screening and Background Review — OpenAI's recruitment team reviews your resume, work history, and application for alignment with core requirements around engineering experience, leadership background, and production system expertise. This stage assesses whether your experience meets the 8+ years of engineering and 2+ years of management criteria.
  2. 2
    Technical Phone Screen — Conversation with a hiring manager or senior engineer covering your production development experience, technical depth in Python and JavaScript, and approach to system architecture. Expect discussions about past projects, technical decisions, and coding practices you've used to maintain quality at scale.
  3. 3
    Management Philosophy and Leadership Discussion — Deep conversation exploring your management style, approach to team building, experience developing high-performing engineers, and philosophy around decision-making under pressure. The interviewer will assess your ability to lead with clarity and drive performance without over-reliance on process.
  4. 4
    Customer-Centric Problem-Solving Case Study — Scenario-based discussion where you analyze a complex customer deployment challenge, ambiguous requirements, or production incident. You'll be expected to think through the problem, propose solutions, and demonstrate judgment about what signals matter most and what requires urgent action.
  5. 5
    Cross-Functional Stakeholder Simulation — Interview with Product, Research, or Sales representatives to assess your ability to communicate with non-technical stakeholders, translate field learnings into strategic insights, and navigate competing priorities across functions. This evaluates your cross-functional leadership capabilities.
  6. 6
    Founder or Senior Leadership Conversation — Potential conversation with senior OpenAI leadership to discuss your vision for the Forward Deployed Engineering function, your approach to scaling customer success with frontier AI, and how you'd measure and communicate team impact back to research and product development.
  7. 7
    Reference Checks and Background Verification — Detailed reference calls with former managers and peers assessing your technical capabilities, leadership effectiveness, judgment, and ability to operate under pressure. OpenAI conducts background checks in accordance with applicable law for UK-based candidates.
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OpenAI

OpenAI

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OpenAI is an American artificial intelligence research organization developing advanced AI models like GPT. Focused on ensuring AI benefits humanity, it creates tools for natural language processing and generative AI applications.

San Francisco, California, United StatesFounded 2015openai.com

Tech Stack

Languages
PythonJavaScript/TypeScript
Frameworks
FastAPI or DjangoReact or Vue.jsNode.js
Databases
PostgreSQLRedisVector Databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, Milvus)
Tools
OpenAI APIs (GPT Models)Git and GitHubDocker and KubernetesCI/CD PlatformsMonitoring and Observability Tools
Other
LLM Integration and Prompt EngineeringProduction Deployment PracticesIncident Management and On-Call Support

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5 guides available for OpenAI

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