Principal Software Engineer (AI)

Location: San Francisco or New York City, with three days each week in the office. Relocation assistance is available to eligible new employees.

Base pay: $459,000–$536,000 per year, plus equity, performance-related bonuses for eligible employees, and benefits.

Company

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company developing general-purpose artificial intelligence products with a focus on safety and human benefit.

What you will do

• Lead end-to-end development of learning experiences in ChatGPT from exploration through production and iteration.
• Drive product and design decisions with product managers and designers, balancing user feedback, priorities, and tradeoffs.
• Set technical direction and guide architecture decisions for complex initiatives, rapid experimentation, and long-term reliability.
• Build multimodal learning capabilities combining text, images, voice, and interactive interfaces.
• Develop scalable services and APIs, and improve performance, reliability, and usability across ChatGPT learning surfaces.
• Collaborate with researchers, platform teams, designers, and engineers while mentoring engineers through code reviews and technical guidance.

Requirements

• 10+ years of software engineering experience and a track record of shipping high-quality products across the full stack.
• Experience leading complex technical initiatives and making architecture decisions that balance product needs, development speed, and maintainability.
• Experience driving product and design decisions in close partnership with product managers and designers.
• Experience building consumer products and taking ownership from initial concept through production.
• Ability to bring clarity to ambiguous problems and translate them into practical product solutions.
• Strong product engineering instincts and a deep focus on user experience quality.
• Experience building interactive educational tools or learning products.
• Experience developing AI-powered applications or systems built around large language models.
• Interest in building products with meaningful global impact and expanding access to education and learning opportunities.

Culture & Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and families, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match, flexible spending accounts, and commuter benefits.
• Paid parental, medical, caregiver, sick, and safe leave, plus paid time off and 13+ company holidays.
• Mental health and wellness support, employer-paid life and disability coverage, and charitable donation matching.
• Annual learning and development stipend, daily office meals, and eligible meal delivery credits.
• Paid coordinated office closures throughout the year and additional taxable wellness benefits may be provided.

Hiring process

• More detailed benefits information is provided during the hiring process.
• Background checks are administered in accordance with applicable law.