Software Engineer, Payments

Backend Engineer · Senior · Full Time

San FranciscoUSD 255k – 440k13mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

OpenAI's Payments Team is seeking a Software Engineer to build and scale critical payment infrastructure that powers ChatGPT, API, and future commercial products. This role involves architecting financial systems, integrating with payment processors like Stripe, and ensuring reliable money movement at global scale. The position requires 5+ years of experience with payments or financial systems and offers competitive compensation ($255K-$440K) plus equity in a hybrid San Francisco environment.

Responsibilities

  • Payment Infrastructure Architecture: Design and implement scalable core payment systems that support OpenAI's growing product portfolio including ChatGPT, API, and future commercial offerings
  • Financial Primitives Development: Build robust and extensible financial building blocks that enable rapid product iteration and support hyper-growth scenarios
  • Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with Finance, Growth, Product, and Legal teams to translate complex business requirements into clean, scalable technical solutions
  • Payment Integration Management: Develop and maintain direct integrations with payment service providers like Stripe, Adyen, and other financial infrastructure partners
  • Global Checkout Experience: Create seamless, localized payment experiences for users worldwide, supporting multiple currencies and payment methods
  • System Reliability & Observability: Improve the reliability, monitoring, and auditability of money movement systems to ensure 99.9% uptime and regulatory compliance
  • Technical Leadership: Demonstrate high ownership levels to ship changes in the highly-regulated payments domain while maintaining security and compliance standards
  • Performance Optimization: Optimize payment processing speed and reliability to handle OpenAI's rapid scaling and ensure excellent user experience during high-traffic periods

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Backend Development Expertise

    5+ years of professional software engineering experience with focus on backend systems, APIs, and database design

  • Payment Systems Knowledge

    Hands-on experience with payment processors (Stripe, Adyen, Braintree) or building internal financial systems including cardholder data handling

  • Financial Systems Architecture

    Understanding of online commerce, pricing systems, transaction processing, and money movement infrastructure at scale

  • Database Management

    Proficiency with relational databases, transaction management, and data consistency in financial contexts

  • API Design & Integration

    Strong experience designing RESTful APIs, webhook systems, and third-party service integrations

  • Security & Compliance

    Knowledge of PCI DSS compliance, data encryption, secure coding practices, and financial industry regulations

Education

  • Computer Science Degree

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent practical experience

  • Financial Systems Knowledge

    Understanding of financial concepts, payment processing, and regulatory requirements in the payments industry

Experience

  • Payments or Fintech Experience

    5+ years of professional experience in software engineering, ideally with focus on payments or financial systems at scale

  • High-Growth Environment

    Experience thriving in fast-paced, ambiguous environments while balancing rapid execution with technical rigor

  • Cross-functional Collaboration

    Proven track record of working with diverse stakeholders including Finance, Legal, Product, and external vendors

  • System Scalability

    Experience building and scaling systems that handle high transaction volumes and support rapid business growth

Skills

Required

  • Backend Development

    Proficiency in Python, Java, or similar backend languages for building scalable payment systems

  • Payment Processing

    Experience with payment gateways, transaction processing, and financial data handling

  • Database Design

    Strong skills in designing and optimizing databases for financial transaction storage

  • API Development

    Expertise in building robust RESTful APIs and webhook systems for payment integrations

  • System Architecture

    Ability to design scalable, reliable systems that can handle high transaction volumes

  • Security Practices

    Knowledge of secure coding, data encryption, and compliance requirements for financial systems

Preferred

  • Cloud Platforms

    Nice to have

    Experience with AWS, GCP, or Azure for deploying and scaling payment infrastructure

  • Microservices Architecture

    Nice to have

    Understanding of microservices patterns and distributed systems design

  • DevOps Practices

    Nice to have

    Familiarity with CI/CD, containerization, and infrastructure as code

  • Frontend Integration

    Nice to have

    Basic understanding of frontend technologies for payment UI integration

  • Monitoring & Observability

    Nice to have

    Experience with application monitoring, logging, and performance optimization tools

  • Agile Methodologies

    Nice to have

    Experience working in agile development environments with cross-functional teams

Tech stack

Languages

PythonJavaScript/TypeScriptSQL

Frameworks

Django/FlaskReactFastAPI

Databases

PostgreSQLRedisMongoDB

Tools

DockerKubernetesAWS/GCPTerraformDataDog/New Relic

Other

Stripe APIAdyenPCI DSSWebhooksOAuth 2.0

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 255,000 – 440,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Equity Compensation

    Significant equity stake in OpenAI with potential for substantial growth as the company continues to lead in AI innovation

  • Hybrid Work Model

    Flexible 3-day in-office requirement per week in San Francisco, allowing for work-life balance while maintaining collaboration

  • Relocation Assistance

    Comprehensive relocation support for new employees moving to San Francisco area

  • Health Insurance

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

  • Professional Development

    Opportunities to work on cutting-edge AI technology and grow expertise in payments and financial systems

  • Parental Leave

    Generous parental leave policies supporting new parents

  • Retirement Benefits

    401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching

  • Wellness Programs

    Mental health support, wellness stipends, and employee assistance programs

  • Learning Budget

    Annual budget for conferences, courses, and professional development in AI and payments technology

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening

    30-minute phone/video call with recruiting team to discuss background, interest in OpenAI, and role alignment

  2. 02

    Technical Phone Screen

    45-60 minute technical interview focusing on system design, payment processing concepts, and coding problem-solving

  3. 03

    System Design Interview

    60-90 minute deep-dive into designing scalable payment systems, discussing architecture patterns and trade-offs

  4. 04

    Coding Interview

    60 minute hands-on coding session focusing on backend development, API design, and financial data processing

  5. 05

    Cross-functional Interview

    45 minute behavioral interview with Finance/Product team members to assess collaboration and communication skills

  6. 06

    Final Round

    On-site or virtual panel including hiring manager and senior engineers, covering technical depth and cultural fit

  7. 07

    Reference Check

    Background verification and reference calls with previous supervisors and colleagues

Full posting

Original listing.

About the Team

The Payments Team is working to make AGI financially sustainable by enabling OpenAI to accept payments across our existing products (ChatGPT, ChatGPT for Teams, API) and supporting future commercial experiences. We own the user-facing payments experience, direct integrations with payment service providers, and other supporting infrastructure that powers checkout and payment flows. Payments works closely with teams across Finance, Legal, Growth, Product, external vendors and more to ensure our payments infrastructure scales with the business and supports evolving commercial goals.

About the Role

As a Software Engineer on the Payments Team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the infrastructure that powers OpenAI’s financial systems. You’ll design and build core payments systems, partner with cross-functional teams to deliver scalable solutions, and ensure that our financial systems support rapid product iteration and global reach. We’re looking for people who are pragmatic, collaborative, and energized by the opportunity to build systems that are foundational to OpenAI’s long-term mission and sustainability.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

  • Architect, implement and scale core payment infrastructure.

  • Build robust and extensible financial primitives to enable rapid iteration and support hyper-growth.

  • Collaborate closely with internal and external stakeholders (e.g. Finance, GTM, Product, etc) to translate business requirements into clean, scalable technical systems.

  • Demonstrate high levels of ownership to get changes shipped in the highly-regulated domain of payments.

  • Create a seamless user experience for checkout around the world.

  • Improve the reliability, observability and auditability of money movement at OpenAI.

You might thrive in this role if you:

  • Have 5+ years of professional experience in software engineering, ideally with a focus on payments or financial systems at scale.

  • Are familiar with payment processors (e.g., Stripe, Adyen, Braintree) or have built similar internal financial systems, e.g. storing cardholder data, pricing, online commerce, etc.

  • Bring a strong product mindset and a desire to deeply understand product needs and design for long-term flexibility.

  • Thrive in high-growth, ambiguous environments, and can balance fast execution with technical rigor and system reliability.

  • Excellent communication skills, with ability to build consensus among stakeholders both internally and externally.

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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