Forward Deployed Engineer, Gov at OpenAI

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

OpenAI Logo
$198,000 – $252,000Compensation
Senior (5 to 8 years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Government, Defense, Public SectorIndustries

Requirements

  • 5+ years of engineering or technical deployment experience, ideally in customer-facing or government environments
  • Active TS/SCI clearance or equivalent
  • Have scoped and delivered complex systems in fast-moving or ambiguous contexts
  • Write and review production-grade code across frontend and backend, using Python, JavaScript, or similar stacks
  • Familiar with cloud deployment models (Azure, AWS), Kubernetes, Terraform, and related infrastructure
  • Experience building or deploying systems powered by LLMs or generative models, and understand how model behavior affects product experience
  • Simplify complexity, make fast, sound decisions under pressure, and communicate clearly across technical and non-technical audiences
  • Spot risks early, adjust without slowing down, and model calm judgment when stakes are high
  • Humble, collaborative, and eager to help others with empathy
  • Operate with high horsepower, thrive in dynamic environments, and ruthlessly prioritize across multiple projects

Responsibilities

  • Own technical delivery across multiple government deployments, from first prototype to stable production
  • Deeply embed with public sector customers to design and build novel applications powered by OpenAI models
  • Enable successful deployments across customer environments by delivering observable systems spanning infrastructure through applications
  • Prototype and build full-stack systems using Python, JavaScript, or comparable stacks that deliver real mission impact
  • Proactively guide customers on maximizing business and operational value from their applications
  • Forge and manage relationships with customer leadership and stakeholders, ensuring successful deployment and scale
  • Scope work, sequence delivery, and remove blockers early—making trade-offs between scope, speed, and quality
  • Contribute directly in the code when clarity or momentum depends on it
  • Codify working patterns into tools, playbooks, or building blocks others can use
  • Share field feedback with Research and Product to influence model and product development
  • Keep teams moving through clarity, judgment, and consistent follow-through

Skills

Python
JavaScript
Full-Stack Development
Prototyping
Deployment
Infrastructure

OpenAI

Develops safe and beneficial AI technologies

About OpenAI

OpenAI develops and deploys artificial intelligence technologies aimed at benefiting humanity. The company creates advanced AI models capable of performing various tasks, such as automating processes and enhancing creativity. OpenAI's products, like Sora, allow users to generate videos from text descriptions, showcasing the versatility of its AI applications. Unlike many competitors, OpenAI operates under a capped profit model, which limits the profits it can make and ensures that excess earnings are redistributed to maximize the social benefits of AI. This commitment to safety and ethical considerations is central to its mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence (AGI) serves all of humanity.

San Francisco, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2015Year Founded
$18,433.2MTotal Funding
LATE_VCCompany Stage
AI & Machine LearningIndustries
1,001-5,000Employees

Benefits

Health insurance
Dental and vision insurance
Flexible spending account for healthcare and dependent care
Mental healthcare service
Fertility treatment coverage
401(k) with generous matching
20-week paid parental leave
Life insurance (complimentary)
AD&D insurance (complimentary)
Short-term/long-term disability insurance (complimentary)
Optional buy-up life insurance
Flexible work hours and unlimited paid time off (we encourage 4+ weeks per year)
Annual learning & development stipend
Regular team happy hours and outings
Daily catered lunch and dinner
Travel to domestic conferences

Risks

Elon Musk's legal battle may pose financial and reputational challenges for OpenAI.
Customizable ChatGPT personas could lead to privacy and ethical concerns.
Competitors like Anthropic raising capital may intensify market competition.

Differentiation

OpenAI's capped profit model prioritizes ethical AI development over unlimited profit.
OpenAI's AI models, like Sora, offer unique video creation from text descriptions.
OpenAI's focus on AGI aims to create AI systems smarter than humans.

Upsides

OpenAI's $6.6 billion funding boosts its AI research and computational capacity.
Customizable ChatGPT personas enhance user engagement and satisfaction.
OpenAI's 'Operator' AI agent could revolutionize workforce automation by 2025.

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