Software Tooling Engineer (San Francisco)

Were hiring a tooling engineer to build the internal tools that power all of our io teams hardware, operations, design, research, and software. Youll own the design and implementation of full-stack systems that make our teams faster, more effective, and more connected. This role requires strong instincts for usability, a bias toward rapid iteration, and a deep understanding of when to build versus buy.

Youll work closely with teams across the organization to identify pain points, prototype solutions, and take them from zero-to-one into reliable, secure systems. The ideal candidate is a pragmatic builder who moves fast without compromising security, can navigate a wide range of technologies, and cares deeply about delivering great user experiences.

Core responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain internal tools used across hardware, research, design, operations, and software teams.

• Rapidly prototype and iterate on new tools in collaboration with stakeholders.

• Architect and deliver full-stack solutions with an emphasis on usability and security.

• Evaluate third-party and open-source solutions, and make sound decisions on build vs. buy.

• Establish best practices for internal tooling, including code quality, reliability, and security.
  

Minimum qualifications

• Professional experience in software engineering, with a focus on full-stack web development.

• Proficiency in rapid development of user-facing products and internal applications.

• Experience working from zero-to-one on early-stage products and iterating quickly based on feedback.

• Strong understanding of security principles and best practices for protecting sensitive data.

• Familiarity with a broad range of modern front-end and back-end frameworks and tools.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience building internal tools for multidisciplinary teams (hardware, research, operations).

• Track record of selecting and integrating third-party or open-source solutions effectively.

• Strong design sense and experience collaborating closely with designers.

• Familiarity with infrastructure and deployment for internal systems (e.g., containerization, CI/CD).

• Experience in environments that require balancing speed with security and reliability.

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 OpenAIs Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement .

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable law, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act. 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 .

At 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.