Software Engineer, Infrastructure, Consumer Devices
Infrastructure Engineer · Senior · Full Time
Opens OpenAI's application page
Role
What you'll do.
OpenAI is seeking a highly skilled Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to design, build, and evolve critical infrastructure platforms powering their AI products. The role demands a strategic technical leader who can architect scalable, reliable systems while driving infrastructure innovation across the organization.
Responsibilities
- Infrastructure Design: Design and build scalable, reliable, and secure infrastructure platforms that power OpenAI's cutting-edge AI products
- Cloud Architecture: Evolve cloud infrastructure abstractions to enable rapid product development across multiple teams
- System Reliability: Improve server orchestration, networking, and distributed systems reliability to support significant growth and operational complexity
- Technical Leadership: Influence technical direction and infrastructure strategy, mentoring engineers and raising the overall technical bar of the organization
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with product, research, and engineering teams to align infrastructure with evolving organizational needs
- Operational Excellence: Participate in on-call rotations, incident response, and maintain high standards of system performance and reliability
Qualifications
What we look for.
Technical
Kubernetes Expertise
Deep understanding of Kubernetes and container orchestration at enterprise scale
Cloud Platforms
Extensive experience with cloud infrastructure on AWS, GCP, Azure, or equivalent platforms
Distributed Systems
Proven track record of designing and operating highly reliable, secure, and scalable distributed systems
Education
Computer Science
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field preferred
Experience
Infrastructure Experience
8+ years of experience building and operating large-scale infrastructure systems
Technical Leadership
Proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives across multiple teams
Mentorship
Experience in mentoring engineers and influencing technical direction
Skills
Required
Kubernetes
Advanced container orchestration and management skills
Cloud Infrastructure
Expertise in designing and implementing cloud-native infrastructure solutions
Systems Architecture
Strong systems thinking with ability to balance velocity, reliability, and simplicity
Preferred
AI Infrastructure
Nice to haveExperience with infrastructure supporting machine learning and AI workloads
Performance Optimization
Nice to haveDeep understanding of system performance tuning and scalability patterns
Tech stack
Languages
Frameworks
Databases
Tools
Other
Compensation
Pay and benefits.
Base·USD 325,000 – 440,000
Equity·Stock options
Benefits
Equity
Competitive stock option package reflecting the company's innovative potential
Health Insurance
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
Professional Development
Opportunities for continuous learning and career growth in cutting-edge AI technology
Process
Interview steps.
- 01
Initial Screening
HR phone interview to assess basic qualifications and cultural fit
- 02
Technical Phone Screen
Detailed discussion of technical background, infrastructure experience, and problem-solving approach
- 03
Technical Interviews
Multiple rounds of in-depth technical interviews focusing on system design, cloud architecture, and distributed systems
- 04
Systems Design Challenge
Comprehensive technical assessment simulating real-world infrastructure design scenarios
- 05
Final Interview
Meeting with senior leadership to discuss strategic vision and team fit
Full posting
Original listing.
About the Role
We are seeking a Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to help design and evolve the platforms that power OpenAI’s products.
In this role, you will be a hands-on technical leader, driving the architecture, scalability, and reliability of critical infrastructure systems. You will help define how we build and operate infrastructure at the next order of magnitude, while influencing technical direction across teams.
This role is both deeply technical and highly strategic, requiring strong ownership, sound judgment, and the ability to partner effectively across engineering, product, and research organizations.
In this role, you will:
Design and build scalable, reliable, and secure infrastructure platforms that power OpenAI products
Evolve cloud infrastructure abstractions that enable rapid product development across teams
Architect systems to support significant growth, performance, and operational complexity
Improve server orchestration, networking, and distributed systems reliability
Influence technical direction and infrastructure strategy across multiple teams
Partner closely with product, research, and engineering teams to align infrastructure with evolving needs
Own operational excellence, including participation in on-call rotations and incident response
Mentor engineers and raise the overall technical bar of the organization
Contribute to a culture of high ownership, low ego, and thoughtful collaboration
You might thrive in this role if you:
8+ years of experience building and operating large-scale infrastructure systems
Deep expertise in Kubernetes and container orchestration at scale
Strong experience designing cloud abstractions and platform infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure, or similar)
Proven track record of leading complex technical initiatives across teams
Experience operating highly reliable, secure, and scalable distributed systems
Strong systems thinking with the ability to balance velocity, reliability, and simplicity
Comfortable operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
Experience mentoring engineers and influencing technical direction
Passion for building infrastructure that enables impactful products
Why This Role Matters
This role is critical to enabling OpenAI to scale its products and infrastructure to the next level. You will help define how we build and operate the systems that power some of the most widely used AI products in the world.
Your work will directly impact the reliability, scalability, and velocity of OpenAI’s technology—helping bring advanced AI capabilities to millions of users safely and effectively.
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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