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Software Engineer, Inference - Performance Optimization

OpenAI· Scaling
Apply on company site
San Francisco$266k - $500kFull-timePosted 6mo ago

About the role

Role focused on modeling and optimizing inference performance across application, model, and fleet layers to improve latency, throughput, and cost. Build cost-to-serve estimates from microbenchmarks and develop tools for cross-functional teams to reason about performance tradeoffs.

Responsibilities

  • Build and refine performance models that translate microbenchmark results into cost-to-serve estimates.
  • Analyze inference workloads end to end across applications, models, and fleet infrastructure. Enhance tooling to identify bottlenecks across layers for latency and throughput.
  • Partner with other teams to turn performance insights into concrete improvements and project how future changes affect inference.

Qualifications

  • Enjoy reasoning from first principles about distributed systems, model inference, and hardware efficiency.
  • Comfortable working across abstraction layers, from application behavior to kernels, accelerators, networking, and fleet scheduling.
  • Deep expertise with performance profiling, benchmarking, analysis, and optimization.
  • Enjoy collaborating with engineering and research teams to improve real production systems.

Skills

Required:Performance modelingBenchmarking and profiling

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 or safe time
  • 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 may also be provided.
Last updated Sep 3, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About OpenAI

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