Software Engineer, Computer Use & Frontier Interfaces

Software Engineer · Senior · Full Time

San FranciscoUSD 255k – 405k1mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

OpenAI is seeking an exceptional Software Engineer to join their Computer Use and New Interfaces team, focusing on pioneering next-generation AI-native interfaces. The ideal candidate will collaborate across engineering, product, and design to develop innovative interaction paradigms that unlock AI's full potential, working in a highly experimental and design-driven environment.

Responsibilities

  • Interface Innovation: Design and build novel AI-native interfaces that push beyond traditional software paradigms
  • Technology Development: Create foundational technologies and frameworks enabling generative UI and computer use experiences
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with designers, product managers, and engineers to explore and validate new interaction concepts
  • Prototype Development: Build end-to-end prototypes and production systems that can influence future OpenAI products
  • Platform Contribution: Develop platform technologies that can be adopted across multiple product surfaces
  • Technical Leadership: Help establish technical direction and engineering best practices for the team

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • User Interface Engineering

    Expertise in designing and implementing complex, user-centric interfaces

  • System Architecture

    Ability to design scalable and robust software systems

Education

  • Computer Science

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

  • Advanced Studies

    Advanced degree preferred for complex AI interface research

Experience

  • Product Development

    Proven track record of developing innovative software products

  • AI Interaction

    Experience with AI-driven interface design and implementation

Skills

Required

  • Software Engineering Fundamentals

    Strong core software engineering skills with experience building user-facing products

  • Prototyping

    Ability to rapidly create and iterate on technical prototypes

  • Cross-Platform Development

    Experience with Apple platforms, Windows, or desktop development

  • AI Interface Design

    Understanding of innovative user interaction models for AI technologies

Preferred

  • Product Thinking

    Nice to have

    Strong intuition for user experience and interaction design

  • Experimental Development

    Nice to have

    Experience in zero-to-one product development and early-stage exploration

  • AI Technology

    Nice to have

    Deep interest and understanding of emerging AI interaction paradigms

Tech stack

Languages

PythonJavaScript

Frameworks

ReactPyTorch

Databases

PostgreSQL

Tools

GitDocker

Other

AI Model Integration

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 255,000 – 405,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Equity

    Stock options as part of compensation package

  • Health Insurance

    Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage

  • Flexible Work

    Hybrid work arrangement with potential remote work options

  • Professional Development

    Opportunities for continuous learning and cutting-edge AI research

  • Impact-Driven Culture

    Work on transformative AI technologies with global significance

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening

    Phone or video call with recruiting team to assess background and initial fit

  2. 02

    Technical Interview

    In-depth technical discussion focusing on software engineering skills and AI interface design experience

  3. 03

    Design Challenge

    Prototype or design challenge to evaluate problem-solving and innovation skills

  4. 04

    Onsite/Virtual Interviews

    Multiple interviews with team members, including technical and cultural fit assessments

  5. 05

    Final Panel

    Comprehensive review by leadership to evaluate overall candidate potential

Full posting

Original listing.

About the team

The Computer Use and New Interfaces team is focused on discovering and building the next generation of AI-native interfaces. We believe that the value of AI is increasingly constrained not by model capabilities, but by the ways people interact with those capabilities. Our mission is to create new interaction paradigms that unlock the full potential of AI and integrate it more deeply into people's lives and work.

Our team does both near-term product development and longer-term product incubation that can influence experiences across ChatGPT, Codex, future OpenAI products, and emerging device platforms.

We work in a highly collaborative, design-driven environment where engineering, product, and design operate as one team. We value rapid experimentation, prototyping, and iteration, creating the shortest possible path between an idea, a working system, and a product decision.

About the role

We're looking for exceptional engineers who are excited to invent entirely new ways for people to interact with AI. You'll work at the intersection of engineering, product, and design to explore, prototype, and build novel interface concepts that push beyond traditional software paradigms.

This role requires comfort with ambiguity, strong product instincts, and a willingness to move fluidly between experimentation and production systems. You'll help shape both the capabilities and the user experiences that define how people engage with AI.

In this role you will:

  • Design, prototype, and build novel AI-native interfaces and interaction models.

  • Develop foundational technologies and frameworks that enable generative UI and computer use experiences.

  • Collaborate closely with designers, product thinkers, and engineers to rapidly explore and validate new concepts.

  • Build end-to-end prototypes and production systems that can influence future OpenAI products.

  • Contribute to platform technologies that can be adopted across multiple product surfaces.

  • Help establish technical direction and engineering best practices for an incubation-stage team.

  • Participate in a highly iterative development process focused on learning, experimentation, and user feedback.

You might thrive in this role if you:

  • Have strong software engineering fundamentals and experience building user-facing products.

  • Enjoy working in ambiguous, fast-moving environments where the path forward is not always obvious.

  • Have experience with Apple platforms, Windows, or desktop development

  • Are excited by zero-to-one product development and early-stage exploration.

  • Have a strong product sense and enjoy thinking deeply about user experience and interaction design.

  • Can rapidly prototype ideas while also building robust, scalable systems when needed.

  • Are energized by cross-functional collaboration and enjoy working closely with design and product partners.

  • Are curious about how AI will transform software and motivated to help define what comes next.

  • Believe that breakthrough products emerge from tight feedback loops between ideas, prototypes, technology, and users.

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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