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Software Engineer, Habitat (Online Data)

OpenAI· Applied AI
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Seattle$266k - $445k + bonusFull-timePosted 11mo ago

About the role

Software Engineer role focusing on Habitat, OpenAI’s online data platform, building and operating a high-scale online database with end-to-end ownership of provisioning, APIs, caching, routing, CDC, privacy enforcement, and data movement across regions.

Responsibilities

  • Design and build core abstractions spanning storage, caching, routing, CDC, and privacy enforcement
  • Own a major surface area end to end, from product and API design to operational excellence
  • Improve latency, correctness, and cost efficiency for real production workloads at massive scale
  • Build strong instrumentation, debugging workflows, and developer-first tooling
  • Collaborate closely with internal product and infrastructure teams to understand requirements and ship pragmatic solutions
  • Participate in an on-call rotation and raise the bar on reliability while aggressively improving performance and usability

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of industry experience building production software, including 3+ years leading large-scale, complex projects or technical initiatives as a tech lead or senior IC
  • Strong passion for building distributed systems at scale, with a focus on reliability, scalability, security, and continuous improvement
  • Proficiency in Rust and/or Python (Rust preferred for core systems work; Python commonly used for tooling, services, and ecosystem integration)
  • Excellent communication skills, with the ability to build alignment and drive decisions across diverse technical and non-technical stakeholders

Skills

Required:Distributed systems design and operationRustLatency optimizationPlatform APIs
Nice to have:Python

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
  • Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
  • 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
  • Paid 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 employees
  • 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick and safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked)
  • Mental health and wellness support
  • Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
  • Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
  • Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
  • Relocation support for eligible employees
  • Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends
Last updated Sep 3, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About OpenAI

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