Applied Scientist (AI)

Location: San Francisco, United States; hybrid

Salary: $207,000–$230,000 per year, plus equity and performance-related bonuses for eligible employees.

Company

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company developing and safely deploying general-purpose AI systems.

What you will do

• Design study plans, survey measures, and analysis plans for large-scale longitudinal research on AI use and well-being.
• Analyze survey and behavioral data, including selection and response bias, account-linkage patterns, and sample representativeness.
• Prepare and validate analysis-ready datasets, implement analyses, and create clear summaries and visualizations using reproducible workflows.
• Develop quality checks across survey programming, fieldwork, data delivery, and repeated study waves.
• Coordinate study execution, timelines, vendors, and cross-functional dependencies, including collaboration with data engineering and privacy partners on responsible data flows, logging, and retention.
• Support IRB documentation, protocol amendments, consent and assent processes, research readouts, publications, and communication of findings to technical and nontechnical partners.

Requirements

• Experience conducting applied quantitative research in social science, behavioral science, human-computer interaction, statistics, or a related field.
• Strong foundations in survey research and statistical analysis, with experience in panel studies, longitudinal datasets, or human-subjects research.
• Comfort using SQL and Python or R to prepare data, implement analyses, validate results, and create visualizations.
• Understanding of how recruitment, missing data, participant attrition, and measurement choices affect interpretation and generalizability.
• Ability to combine analytical work with practical execution while managing multiple timelines and collaborators.
• Clear communication skills, including connecting methodological choices and findings to decisions.
• Sound judgment when working with sensitive data and research involving minors.
• Ability to build structure in ambiguous environments and collaborate across disciplines.

Nice to have

• Experience combining survey responses with behavioral or product data.
• Familiarity with preregistration, measure validation, reproducible research, academic publication, or peer review.
• Experience working with research vendors, survey platforms, or IRB and ethics-review partners.
• Research experience in AI-human interaction, digital well-being, youth development, or social and emotional uses of technology.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work in San Francisco with relocation support for eligible employees.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts.
• 401(k) plan with employer match, paid parental and medical leave, paid time off, company holidays, and paid sick or safe time.
• Mental health and wellness support, employer-paid life and disability coverage, and an annual learning and development stipend.
• Daily office meals, eligible meal delivery credits, commuter benefits, charitable donation matching, and wellness stipends.