Finite Element Analysis (FEA) Engineer (San Francisco)

About the Team
The Product Design Simulation team is responsible for redefining how we design and engineer hardware. By combining advanced multiphysics simulation with machine learning, we accelerate development, optimize performance, and enable breakthrough products. Our work ensures that design decisions are informed by computational insight and validated against real-world performance.

About the Role
OpenAI is looking for a Simulation Engineer to join our Product Design Simulation team. As a Simulation Engineer, you will use your expertise in mechanics, CFD, and electromagneticsas well as ML-driven modeling approachesto help shape the next generation of hardware. Youll thrive at the intersection of simulation, machine learning, and real-world design, pushing the boundaries of whats possible through computational intelligence.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 4 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

• Build and run multiphysics models incorporating structural FEA, CFD, and electromagnetic simulations

• Apply machine learning techniques to accelerate workflows, perform surrogate modeling, automate design space exploration, and extract insights from simulation and test data

• Partner with design, test, and hardware teams to define multi-domain performance requirements and real-world load cases

• Validate models through testing and improve prediction accuracy through hybrid physicsML approaches

• Contribute to the development of scalable, ML-integrated simulation frameworks for faster and smarter decision-making

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Hold an MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field

• Have deep expertise in FEA and multiphysics workflows, especially in coupled mechanicalthermalelectromagnetic problems

• Bring hands-on experience applying ML techniques (e.g., regression models, neural networks, surrogate modeling) to simulation or engineering datasets

• Are proficient with tools such as Abaqus, ANSYS, COMSOL, JMAG, and ML libraries like scikit-learn, TensorFlow, or PyTorch

• Possess strong programming/scripting skills (Python, MATLAB) for workflow automation and ML integration

• Have a solid understanding of materials, product design, and real-world loading conditions

• Communicate and collaborate effectively across engineering and data science teams

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.