Software Engineer, Ads Monetization, Revenue Platform

Backend Engineer · Senior · Full Time

San FranciscoUSD 230k – 385k5mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

OpenAI's Applied Engineering team seeks a Software Engineer to architect and build core monetization systems for ChatGPT Ads, focusing on high-scale financial data pipelines, billing integrations, and revenue platform infrastructure. The role requires 5+ years of experience in distributed systems and combines ads delivery, data engineering, and financial systems expertise.

Responsibilities

  • Core Monetization Architecture: Architect and build the foundational monetization systems for ChatGPT Ads, ensuring scalability and financial accuracy
  • End-to-End Pipeline Development: Build and operate comprehensive services and pipelines covering event capture, validation, aggregation, pricing, metering, and billing output generation
  • Data Schema Design: Define and implement authoritative data schemas, models, and invariants to ensure consistent, explainable, and auditable monetization outputs
  • Financial Reconciliation: Own correctness validation and reconciliation processes, aligning production outputs with downstream invoicing and finance requirements
  • Billing Integration Development: Develop full-stack billing integrations to support diverse ChatGPT and API user segments
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Ads Engineering, Data Science, Product, Finance, and Go-To-Market teams to deliver cohesive solutions
  • Monitoring and Controls: Build comprehensive monitoring systems and automated controls to detect and resolve data discrepancies
  • Gap Analysis and Backfill: Investigate production issues and implement backfill processes to maintain data integrity and financial accuracy

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Distributed Systems Expertise

    Extensive experience developing and scaling distributed systems for high-throughput, low-latency applications

  • Financial Systems Knowledge

    Understanding of financial data processing, billing systems, and monetary transaction handling

  • Data Pipeline Engineering

    Proficiency in building robust data pipelines for real-time and batch processing at scale

  • System Architecture Design

    Ability to design scalable, fault-tolerant architectures for mission-critical financial systems

  • Database Optimization

    Experience with both relational and NoSQL databases, including performance optimization and data modeling

Education

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field preferred

  • Advanced Degree

    Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent experience considered valuable

Experience

  • Professional Software Development

    Minimum 5 years of professional software engineering experience in production environments

  • Distributed Systems Experience

    Significant experience building and scaling distributed systems to handle growth and product launches

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration

    Proven track record working with non-engineering stakeholders including product, finance, and business teams

  • Fast-Paced Environment

    Experience thriving in ambiguous environments with competing priorities and tight deadlines

  • Ads Systems Experience

    Experience with advertising technology and monetization systems preferred but not required

Skills

Required

  • Backend Development

    Strong proficiency in backend service development using modern programming languages

  • System Design

    Ability to design scalable, high-availability systems for financial and advertising applications

  • Data Engineering

    Experience with large-scale data processing, ETL pipelines, and real-time streaming

  • Financial Systems

    Understanding of billing, invoicing, and financial data reconciliation processes

  • Problem Solving

    Strong analytical and debugging skills for complex distributed systems issues

Preferred

  • Advertising Technology

    Nice to have

    Experience with ad serving, monetization platforms, and programmatic advertising

  • Machine Learning Operations

    Nice to have

    Understanding of ML model deployment and inference infrastructure

  • Cloud Architecture

    Nice to have

    Experience designing and operating cloud-native applications at scale

  • Financial Engineering

    Nice to have

    Background in quantitative finance, trading systems, or financial technology

  • Real-Time Systems

    Nice to have

    Experience with low-latency, high-throughput real-time processing systems

Tech stack

Languages

PythonJavaGoSQL

Frameworks

Apache KafkaApache SparkFastAPISpring Boot

Databases

PostgreSQLRedisApache CassandraClickHouse

Tools

KubernetesDockerTerraformDataDogApache Airflow

Other

AWSgRPCProtocol BuffersPrometheus

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 230,000 – 385,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Equity Compensation

    Competitive equity package with significant upside potential in a rapidly growing AI company

  • Health Insurance

    Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and families

  • Learning and Development

    Professional development opportunities including conferences, courses, and internal training programs

  • Flexible Work Environment

    Hybrid work model with modern office facilities in San Francisco

  • Cutting-Edge Technology Access

    Early access to OpenAI's latest AI models and tools for professional development

  • Mission-Driven Work

    Opportunity to work on AI technology that benefits humanity and shapes the future

  • Equal Opportunity Employment

    Inclusive workplace with commitment to diversity and equal employment opportunities

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening

    Phone or video screening with recruiting team to discuss background, interests, and role alignment

  2. 02

    Technical Phone Interview

    45-60 minute technical interview focusing on system design, coding, and problem-solving skills

  3. 03

    System Design Interview

    Deep-dive technical interview on distributed systems architecture, scalability, and trade-offs

  4. 04

    Cross-Functional Interview

    Behavioral interview assessing collaboration skills, communication with non-engineering stakeholders, and cultural fit

  5. 05

    Final Panel Interview

    On-site or virtual panel with team members and leadership to discuss technical depth, project approach, and team dynamics

  6. 06

    Reference and Background Check

    Final verification of background, references, and completion of any required security clearance processes

Full posting

Original listing.

About the Team

The Applied team at OpenAI safely brings cutting-edge technology to the world. We have released widely used products such as ChatGPT, Sora, and the OpenAI API, powering models including GPT-5 and a growing set of multimodal capabilities across text, image, audio, and video. Our team also manages large-scale inference and platform infrastructure that supports these experiences at global scale. With much more on the horizon, our impact continues to grow.

Our customers build fast-growing businesses using our APIs, unlocking product capabilities that were previously unimaginable. ChatGPT and Sora exemplify the breadth of what’s now possible across text, image, audio, and video experiences. As these capabilities expand, we prioritize the responsible use of our technology, emphasizing safe and thoughtful deployment over unchecked growth.

Within Applied Engineering, the Ads Monetization team in Financial Engineering builds the core systems dealing with all the money flows for ChatGPT Ads. These systems are a combination of low-latency, high scale, high reliability, while being built in a financially correct, accurate, auditable and explainable way. This role sits at the intersection of ads delivery, data engineering, and financial systems.

In this role, you will:

  • Architect and build the core monetization systems for ChatGPT Ads.

  • Build and operate the core services and pipelines that power ads monetization end-to-end, from event capture and validation through aggregation, pricing, metering, and ultimately producing billable outputs.

  • Define and implement the source of truth for ads monetization data, including schemas, data models, and invariants that ensure outputs are consistent, explainable, and auditable.

  • Own correctness and reconciliation: align production outputs with downstream invoicing/finance requirements, build controls/monitors, and close gaps through investigations and backfills.

  • Develop across the stack to create comprehensive billing integrations for our range of ChatGPT and API users.

  • Collaborate closely with a wide array of stakeholders, including the Ads Engineering, Data Science, Product, Finance, and Go-To-Market teams, as well as fellow engineers.

You might thrive in this role if you:

  • Possess a minimum of 5 years of professional software engineering experience.

  • Bring significant experience in developing (and redeveloping) distributed systems to launch new product capabilities and to handle scaling challenges.

  • Enjoy engaging with various partners, particularly those outside of engineering.

  • Have a keen and innate desire to learn and acquire new skills, coupled with a strong ability to impart that knowledge clearly and succinctly to others.

  • Are deeply invested in creating an exceptional user experience, taking pride in crafting products that address customer needs.

  • Ability to move fast in an environment where things are sometimes loosely defined and may have competing priorities or deadlines.

  • Experience with ads systems is a plus, 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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