Site Reliability Engineer, Frontier Systems Infrastructure at OpenAI

San Francisco, California, United States

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$255,000 – $490,000Compensation

Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level

Full TimeJob Type

UnknownVisa

Technology, AI, High Performance ComputingIndustries

Requirements

Deep experience operating or scaling Kubernetes clusters or similar container orchestration systems in high-growth or hyperscale environments
Strong programming or scripting skills (Python, Go, or similar) and familiarity with Infrastructure-as-Code tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation
Comfortable with bare-metal Linux environments, GPU hardware, and large-scale networking
Experience as an infrastructure, systems, or distributed systems engineer in large-scale or high-availability environments
Strong knowledge of Kubernetes internals, cluster scaling patterns, and containerized workloads
Proficiency in cloud infrastructure concepts (compute, networking, storage, security) and in automating cluster or data center operations
Ability to enjoy solving fast-moving, high-impact operational problems and building automation to eliminate manual work
Ability to balance careful engineering with the urgency of keeping mission-critical systems running
Expected to execute at the same level as a software engineer

Responsibilities

Spin up and scale large Kubernetes clusters, including automation for provisioning, bootstrapping, and cluster lifecycle management
Build software abstractions that unify multiple clusters and present a seamless interface to training workloads
Own node bring-up from bare metal through firmware upgrades, ensuring fast, repeatable deployment at massive scale
Improve operational metrics such as reducing cluster restart times (e.g., from hours to minutes) and accelerating firmware or OS upgrade cycles
Integrate networking and hardware health systems to deliver end-to-end reliability across servers, switches, and data center infrastructure
Develop monitoring and observability systems to detect issues early and keep clusters stable under extreme load
Manage fast-moving operations, quickly diagnose and fix issues when things are on fire, and continuously raise the bar for automation and uptime

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

KubernetesDistributed SystemsBare Metal ProvisioningAutomationFirmware UpgradesMonitoringObservabilityNetworkingInfrastructureLinuxCluster ManagementSoftware Abstractions

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

What is the salary range for the Site Reliability Engineer position?

The salary range is $255K - $490K.

Is this a remote position or does it require on-site work?

This information is not specified in the job description.

What skills are required for this Site Reliability Engineer role?

Required skills include deep experience with Kubernetes clusters, strong programming skills in Python, Go or similar, and familiarity with bare-metal Linux, GPU hardware, Infrastructure-as-Code tools like Terraform, and large-scale networking.

What is the team like at OpenAI's Frontier Systems?

The Frontier Systems team builds, launches, and supports the largest supercomputers for OpenAI's cutting-edge model training, turning data center designs into real systems and developing software for large-scale frontier model trainings, with a mission to ensure hyperscale supercomputers are reliable and efficient.

What makes a strong candidate for this SRE role?

Strong candidates have experience as infrastructure, systems, or distributed systems engineers in large-scale environments, strong Kubernetes knowledge, proficiency in cloud infrastructure, comfort with bare-metal and hardware, and the ability to balance engineering with urgency in mission-critical operations.

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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