Software Engineer, Workload Enablement

About the TeamThe Scaling team is responsible for the architectural and engineering backbone of OpenAI’s infrastructure. We design and deliver advanced systems that support the deployment and operation of cutting-edge AI models. Our work spans system software, networking, platform architecture, fleet-level monitoring, and performance optimization.About the RoleWe’re hiring an SW Engineer to enable production workloads and end-to-end testing on new platforms. This role will include creating new test harnesses and platform stress benchmarks, porting existing inference and training workloads to new, sometimes early-access, systems/hardware, analyzing performance and bottlenecks, and characterizing the end-to-end behavior of new systems (compute, comms, storage, control plane, and failure modes).Key ResponsibilitiesPort and validate key inference and training workloads on new platforms/SKUs as they arrive; drive correctness, performance, and stability to an internal readiness bar.Build a suite of benchmarks and stress tests that capture real E2E behavior of our workloads by exercising all aspects of a system, including CPU, GPU, memory subsystem, frontend, scale-up, and scale-out networking (including WAN traffic, NVlink and RDMA collectives), storage, thermals, and any other relevant parts.Deep-dive performance on distributed training/inference:Collective performance and tuning (across NCCL/RCCL and internal libraries)Overlap of compute/communication, kernel-level bottlenecks, memory bandwidth and scheduling effectsCreate repeatable test harnesses that run in CI / lab environments and produce actionable outputs (pass/fail, performance score, regression detection).Partner with systems + fleet bring-up engineers to ensure the platform is not only stable and performant, but also operationally usable and scalable (containerization, K8s integration, telemetry hooks, failure triage loops).Work cross-functionally with vendors and internal stakeholders by producing clear bug reports, minimal repros, and prioritized issue lists.QualificationsBS in CS/EE (or equivalent practical experience).5+ years in one or more of: ML systems, performance engineering, distributed systems, or HPC.Strong hands-on experience with:PyTorch and modern LLM training/inference stacksLarge-scale distributed training concepts (data/model/pipeline parallel, collective comms)Experience with RDMA and debugging/optimizing comms libraries (NCCL or RCCL) and their interaction with hardware/networkProficiency in Python plus comfort reading/writing performance-critical code (C++/CUDA/HIP is a plus).Strong profiling/debugging skills (e.g., Nsight, rocprof, perf, flamegraphs; ability to reason from traces/counters).Preferred SkillsExperience building workload-shaped benchmarks and stress/fault tests that correlate to production behavior (not just synthetic loops or microbenchmarks).Familiarity with RDMA networking and transport tuning; understanding of how network topology and congestion impact collectives.Experience running and validating workloads in Kubernetes, and bridging “research code” into robust, repeatable infrastructure.Hands-on lab experience with early hardware (new NICs, new GPUs/accelerators, early racks).About OpenAIOpenAI 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.OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy PolicyAt 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.Compensation Range: $293K - $385KLocationSan Francisco; SeattleEmployment TypeFull timeLocation TypeHybridDepartmentScalingCompensation$293K – $385K • Offers EquityThe base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. If the role is non-exempt, overtime pay will be provided consistent with applicable laws. In addition to the salary range listed above, total compensation also includes generous equity, performance-related bonus(es) for eligible employees, and the following benefits.Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings AccountsPre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)401(k) retirement plan with employer matchPaid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)Mental health and wellness supportEmployer-paid basic life and disability coverageAnnual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growthDaily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligibleRelocation support for eligible employeesAdditional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.More details about our benefits are available to candidates during the hiring process.This role is at-will and OpenAI reserves the right to modify base pay and other compensation components at any time based on individual performance, team or company results, or market conditions.