Software Engineer, Applied Emerging Talent (2027)
Builds customer-facing ChatGPT and API features end to end, talking to users and optimising apps for speed and scale. For engineers with zero to one year of experience who know JavaScript, React and a backend language such as Python.
San Francisco
Hybrid0 to 1 years
USD 180k/year
Salary as posted, plus equityFull-time
Posted 14 Sept 2026What they ask for
How OpenAI hires
- 1
Application and resume review
Application screen · From the company
The recruiting team typically replies within about a week.
- 2
Introductory calls
Recruiter screen · From the company
A conversation with the hiring manager or a recruiter about your experience, motivation and goals.
- 3
Skills-based assessment
Technical interview · From the company
Format depends on the team and can be pair coding, a take-home project or a technical test, sometimes more than one.
- 4
Final interviews
Panel interview · From the company
Usually four to six hours with four to six people over one or two days, virtual by default with an option to attend in San Francisco.
- 5
Decision
Offer · From the company
Expect to hear within a week of the final interviews; references may be requested.
What comes up
Roadmaps and cheat sheets for this role
Matched to the skills and level this job asks for.
- RoadmapDSA and problem solvingData structures and patterns
- RoadmapBackend developmentAPIs, databases, auth, deploys
- RoadmapFrontend developmentHTML, CSS, JavaScript and a framework
- Cheat sheetDSA and problem solvingData structures and patterns.
- Cheat sheetBackend developmentAPIs, databases, auth, deploys.
- Cheat sheetFrontend developmentHTML, CSS, JavaScript and a framework.
Worth reading before you apply
From the Sefism resource library, matched to this role and OpenAI's rounds.
A foundations course that builds eleven core data structures from the ground up (arrays, matrices, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees and BSTs, hash tables, hash sets, heaps, graphs and tries), then covers sorting, searching, greedy and divide and conquer. Every chapter has practice problems, flashcards and an assessment. It suits students and career switchers whose foundations came from tutorials and who find pattern courses move too fast.
- Job search
- DSA
- CS fundamentals
A short text course on algorithm analysis: all five asymptotic notations, time and space complexity, best, worst and average cases, and three methods for recursive complexity including the master theorem. It suits students and self-taught developers who can write working code but freeze when an interviewer asks for the time and space complexity, or who want to understand why one solution is faster than another.
- Job search
- DSA
- CS fundamentals
A very large site of articles on data structures, algorithms and core CS subjects such as operating systems, DBMS, computer networks and OOP, usually with code in several languages, plus practice problems and paid courses. It is handy for revising a university topic or finding a worked example of a specific algorithm. Quality varies because much is community written, so cross-check anything surprising against a textbook or official documentation.
- DSA
- CS fundamentals
- Databases
MIT's full undergraduate algorithms course from Spring 2020, free on OpenCourseWare with lecture videos, notes, problem sets, quizzes and exams with solutions, taught in Python by Erik Demaine, Jason Ku and Justin Solomon. It covers data structures, sorting, hashing, trees, graph search, shortest paths and dynamic programming with the reasoning behind each, which is what lets the ideas transfer to new problems.
- DSA
- CS fundamentals
- Programming
A free newsletter of short, focused posts on system design and problem solving, from the team behind the Grokking courses. Recent posts cover company interview processes (such as OpenAI and Anthropic roles), the most asked mobile system design questions and preparation plans, each linking to a fuller article on the blog. It suits engineers who want a steady, low-effort way to keep system design and interview topics fresh between deeper study sessions.
- System design
- DSA
A practical course on negotiating compensation in tech, from preparing and building a strategy to specific tactics, the full package beyond base salary, handling multiple offers and asking for a raise. It has tailored sections for fresh graduates and experienced engineers. It suits anyone with an offer coming, and anyone who has ever accepted the first number out of discomfort.
- Career
- Job search
The full description, requirements and how to apply are on the company's own posting. This page is a summary so you can decide whether it is worth opening.
Verification
3 of 4 checks- Company verified
- Posting checked
- Still open
- Not confirmed by the company
Last checked 8 days ago (6 Oct 2026)
About the company
Researches and builds AI models, including the GPT series, and offers them through ChatGPT and a developer API.
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