OpenAI

Software Engineer, Integrity Foundations - London

OpenAI1 months ago
Location

London, UK

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 221,000 – 370,000

Level

Senior

Role

Backend Engineer

Posted

Jan 26, 2026

Full TimeSenior

The role

Summary

OpenAI is seeking a Software Engineer for their Integrity Foundations team in London to build scaled detection and enforcement systems protecting AI platforms from adversarial threats. This 0→1 team role requires 5+ years of backend engineering experience and 2+ years in trust & safety operations to architect next-generation harm detection systems.

What you'll do

System Architecture: Design and build scaled foundational systems for detecting, tracking, and enforcing against harmful use of OpenAI technologies
Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with technical and non-technical experts on observed harms to inform system designs and implementation strategies
AI-Powered Automation: Leverage OpenAI's advanced technologies to automate and augment harm detection capabilities with minimal human intervention
Interdisciplinary Partnership: Collaborate with policy, trust and safety operations, legal, investigations, and specialized engineers to combat abusive actors
Threat Intelligence: Stay current with latest adversarial techniques and tools to maintain defensive advantage against determined threats
0→1 Team Building: Help establish and grow the new London-based Integrity team from ground up
System Integration: Integrate harm detection systems with existing OpenAI platform infrastructure and services

What we look for

Technical

Backend EngineeringMinimum 5 years of software engineering experience in backend and data systems
Trust & Safety ExperienceAt least 2 years experience in trust and safety analysis, investigation, and/or operations
Codebase NavigationAbility to dive into existing codebases, understand architecture, and provide engineering improvements
System DesignExperience designing and implementing scaled detection and enforcement systems

Education

Bachelor's DegreeComputer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field (preferred but not required with equivalent experience)

Experience

Security OperationsExperience with abuse detection, threat analysis, or security incident response
Distributed SystemsExperience building and maintaining large-scale distributed systems
Cross-functional CollaborationExperience working with non-technical stakeholders including policy, legal, and operations teams

Skills

Required skills

Backend Development5+ years experience building scalable backend systems and APIs
Trust & Safety Operations2+ years experience in abuse detection, investigations, or security operations
Data SystemsExperience with large-scale data processing and analysis systems
System ArchitectureAbility to design and implement foundational security and detection systems
Cross-functional CommunicationStrong ability to work with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Nice to have

Machine LearningExperience with ML techniques for automated detection and classification
Security EngineeringBackground in cybersecurity, threat detection, or adversarial defense
PythonProficiency in Python for backend development and ML integration
Distributed SystemsExperience with microservices, event-driven architectures, and cloud platforms
AI/ML IntegrationExperience integrating AI models into production systems and workflows

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 221,000 – 370,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity Compensation

Stock options in one of the world's leading AI companies with significant growth potential

Comprehensive Health Coverage

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

Professional Development

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

Work-Life Balance

Flexible working arrangements and generous paid time off

Retirement Benefits

401(k) plan with company matching contributions

Parental Leave

Extended paid leave for new parents

Disability Coverage

Short-term and long-term disability insurance

Life Insurance

Company-provided life insurance coverage

Interview process

  1. 1
    Application Review — Initial screening of resume, portfolio, and application materials focusing on trust & safety and backend experience
  2. 2
    Recruiter Phone Screen — 30-minute conversation about background, interest in AI safety, and role expectations
  3. 3
    Technical Phone Interview — 45-60 minute coding interview focusing on backend systems design and data processing
  4. 4
    System Design Interview — 60-90 minute session designing scaled harm detection systems and discussing trade-offs
  5. 5
    Trust & Safety Case Study — 45-60 minute interview discussing approach to real-world abuse scenarios and mitigation strategies
  6. 6
    Cross-functional Collaboration Interview — 45 minute behavioral interview assessing ability to work with policy, legal, and operations teams
  7. 7
    Final Interview Round — Meeting with senior leadership and potential team members, including culture fit assessment
  8. 8
    Reference Checks — Verification of background and previous work experience, particularly in trust & safety roles
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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
PythonGoSQL
Frameworks
FastAPIDjangoPyTorch
Databases
PostgreSQLRedisElasticsearch
Tools
DockerKubernetesApache KafkaGrafanaGit
Other
OpenAI APIAWS/GCPTerraform

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