Forward Deployed Software Engineer - SF
About the team OpenAI’s Forward Deployed Engineering team partners with customers to turn research breakthroughs into production systems. We operate at the intersection of customer delivery and core platform development.
What this role actually needs.
About the team OpenAI’s Forward Deployed Engineering team partners with customers to turn research breakthroughs into production systems. We operate at the intersection of customer delivery and core platform development. Responsibilities: - Embed deeply with strategic customers to understand their business challenges and technical requirements in detail. - Design, architect, and develop full-stack solutions using an experiment-driven, iterative approach. - Prepare detailed scopes of work and project plans for both proof-of-concept prototypes and full production deployments. - Work hands-on with customers' technical teams as a technical expert and trusted advisor, coding side-by-side to drive projects to completion on their infrastructure. - Collaborate with Product, Research and Applied teams to ensure seamless customer experiences, project success and actionable product feedback - Contribute to internal knowledge bases, codifying best practices and sharing insights gained from customer engagements to scale the Forward Deployed Engineering function. Requirements: - Design, architect, and develop full-stack solutions using an experiment-driven, iterative approach. - Prepare detailed scopes of work and project plans for both proof-of-concept prototypes and full production deployments. - Work hands-on with customers' technical teams as a technical expert and trusted advisor, coding side-by-side to drive projects to completion on their infrastructure. - Collaborate with Product, Research and Applied teams to ensure seamless customer experiences, project success and actionable product feedback - Contribute to internal knowledge bases, codifying best practices and sharing insights gained from customer engagements to scale the Forward Deployed Engineering function. - 7+ years of professional full stack engineering experience (excluding internships) in relevant roles at tech and product-driven companies - customer-facing experience is highly desirable Company context: OpenAI builds frontier AI systems, research infrastructure, and applied products for developers, enterprises, and global users.
Day-to-day expectations
OpenAI lists these responsibilities for the Forward Deployed Software Engineer - SF role.
- Embed deeply with strategic customers to understand their business challenges and technical requirements in detail.
- Design, architect, and develop full-stack solutions using an experiment-driven, iterative approach.
- Prepare detailed scopes of work and project plans for both proof-of-concept prototypes and full production deployments.
- Work hands-on with customers' technical teams as a technical expert and trusted advisor, coding side-by-side to drive projects to completion on their infrastructure.
- Collaborate with Product, Research and Applied teams to ensure seamless customer experiences, project success and actionable product feedback
- Contribute to internal knowledge bases, codifying best practices and sharing insights gained from customer engagements to scale the Forward Deployed Engineering function.
What a strong candidate brings
These requirements are extracted from the source listing and normalized for UpJobz readers.
- Design, architect, and develop full-stack solutions using an experiment-driven, iterative approach.
- Prepare detailed scopes of work and project plans for both proof-of-concept prototypes and full production deployments.
- Work hands-on with customers' technical teams as a technical expert and trusted advisor, coding side-by-side to drive projects to completion on their infrastructure.
- Collaborate with Product, Research and Applied teams to ensure seamless customer experiences, project success and actionable product feedback
- Contribute to internal knowledge bases, codifying best practices and sharing insights gained from customer engagements to scale the Forward Deployed Engineering function.
- 7+ years of professional full stack engineering experience (excluding internships) in relevant roles at tech and product-driven companies - customer-facing experience is highly desirable
Why this listing is more than a copied job post.
Forward Deployed Software Engineer - SF is framed against UpJobz source checks, country scope, compensation visibility, and work-authorization signals so candidates can make a faster go/no-go decision.
United States tech market
United States roles on UpJobz are filtered for high-tech relevance, source freshness, and actionable employer detail before they are allowed into SEO surfaces.
Compensation read
$185K - $325K is visible before the click, so candidates can compare the role against local market expectations before applying.
Work authorization read
Current extracted signal: United States residents. UpJobz treats this as a search signal, not legal advice, and links visa-sensitive roles back to the relevant visa hub where possible.
Location read
Hybrid roles in San Francisco should be compared against commute, local salary bands, and nearby employer demand.
Browse similar jobs
Turn this listing into an application plan.
This is the first pass at the premium UpJobz layer: a fast brief that helps serious applicants move with more clarity.
Next moves
- Tailor your resume around ai and llm instead of sending a generic application.
- Use the first two bullets of your application to connect your background directly to forward deployed software engineer - sf is a high-signal hybrid role in san francisco, and it is most realistic for united states residents.
- Open the role quickly if it fits and bookmark three similar jobs before you leave the page.
Interview themes
Watchouts
- $185K - $325K is visible, so calibrate your application around the posted range.
- Use united states residents as part of your positioning so the recruiter does not have to infer it.
- Show concrete examples of succeeding in hybrid environments.
Keywords to match against your background
Use these terms to decide whether your resume, portfolio, and recent projects line up with the role.
Apply through the employer source
Open the source listing from jobs.ashbyhq.com, confirm the role is still active, then apply on the employer or ATS page.
Source: jobs.ashbyhq.com · Source ID: 00207abc-49b7-465c-a219-f7c1140f8047 · Confidence: 97/100 · Last checked: May 7, 2026
How UpJobz verifies job sourcesContinue browsing tech jobs