Backend Software Engineer, API Enterprise Controls

Compensation

$293K – $385K • Offers Equity

The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. If the role is non-exempt, overtime pay will be provided consistent with applicable laws. In addition to the salary range listed above, total compensation also includes generous equity, performance-related bonus(es) for eligible employees, and the following 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 (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
• 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.

About the Team

API Enterprise Controls is part of the API Infrastructure organization and owns the platform capabilities that help developers, startups, and enterprises adopt the OpenAI API securely and confidently. We build the systems underneath our APIs and developer platform across authentication and identity, service accounts and key management, secure networking, compliance, auditability, observability, and operational controls. Our users are developers and teams running critical applications on OpenAI, and we partner closely with Product, go-to-market, security, and infrastructure teams to turn their most important needs into reliable, intuitive platform capabilities.

About the Role

We are looking for an exceptional backend software engineer to help define and ship the enterprise capabilities our API Platform needs to scale. This is a product-engineering role grounded in deep backend systems. You will work across databases, streaming systems, request routing, authentication, and developer-facing APIs while bringing strong product judgment, developer empathy, and attention to the small details that make a platform easier to understand, trust, and operate. You will lead large cross-functional initiatives, work closely with Product and go-to-market teams, engage directly with sophisticated users, and carry ambiguous needs from discovery through design, launch, and iteration.

Responsibilities

• Own backend product capabilities end to end across authentication and identity, service accounts and key controls, secure networking, compliance, observability, and operational workflows.
• Partner with Product, go-to-market, security, infrastructure teams, and sophisticated customers to identify needs, shape the roadmap, and lead large cross-functional projects from design through launch.
• Design developer-facing APIs, system behavior, configuration, error handling, safe defaults, auditing, and notifications with exceptional care for the details that define a great developer experience.
• Build, operate, and debug highly reliable backend systems spanning databases, streaming infrastructure, request routing, and distributed services, with strong operational ownership.

Requirements

• 9+ years of professional engineering experience, excluding internships, in relevant backend, platform, or product-driven engineering roles.
• Exceptional backend engineering depth paired with strong product judgment and a track record of shipping API or platform capabilities that users depend on.
• Experience leading large cross-functional initiatives, influencing product direction, and aligning engineering, Product, go-to-market, security, and infrastructure partners.
• Proficiency in one or more backend languages such as Python, Go, Rust, TypeScript, or similar, with strong software design and systems fundamentals.
• Experience with distributed systems, databases, streaming systems, request routing, authentication and identity, networking, or enterprise platform controls.
• Strong communication and developer empathy, including experience working closely with product partners and users to turn ambiguous needs into clear technical decisions.
• Strong opinions about reliability, DevOps, and operational excellence, paired with meticulous attention to the details that make complex systems feel simple and dependable.