Hardware Operations Engineer in San Francisco

About the Team OpenAI’s Hardware organization develops AI-native silicon and system-level solutions for the unique demands of advanced AI workloads. Building on efforts like Jalapeño, the team is developing future generations of AI-native silicon and tightly integrated systems to power the next generation of frontier models. By co-designing chips, systems, tools, and methodologies, the team helps deliver faster, more efficient, and production-ready hardware for OpenAI’s supercomputing platform. About the Role We are looking for a systems-minded engineer to help advance our kernel development, performance engineering, and hardware-software co-design capabilities, with a particular focus on AI-assisted workflows and tooling. This person will work at the intersection of kernel optimization, developer tooling, observability, and research infrastructure, helping us improve both how production kernels are built and optimized, and how future hardware-software systems are designed and evaluated. The role is ideal for someone who is excited by low-level performance work, but also sees AI and automation as powerful tools for accelerating engineering velocity. You will help define the future of kernel engineering in the era of AI-assisted development. In this role, you may: Build developer tooling and workflows that make kernel development and performance optimization faster, more scalable, and easier to debug, integrate, and deploy. Develop observability, diagnostics, and validation infrastructure that makes AI-assisted optimization systems more interpretable, reliable, and effective. Optimize production kernels end to end by formulating optimization problems, running search loops, analyzing bottlenecks, debugging generated implementations, and landing improvements into production. Design abstractions, interfaces, and automation systems that accelerate kernel optimization, correctness validation, and hardware-software co-design. Improve AI-assisted optimization systems for sp

About the Team OpenAI develops models that can reason through complex problems and hardware designed for the demands of advanced AI. AI for Chips connects these efforts: applying increasingly capable AI systems to the work of semiconductor engineering. Our goal is to help engineers develop better chips and shorten design cycles. This work brings research, model training, and hardware expertise together to build tools that engineers can use on real designs, with correctness and measurable performance at the center. About the Role We’re hiring a Research Engineer to help OpenAI models solve chip-design problems through reinforcement learning, tool use, and evaluation. You’ll own experiments from the initial idea through implementation and analysis. That means building environments and evaluations, running training, investigating failures, and using the results to decide what to try next. You’ll also build the software needed to make those experiments reliable and reproducible. We value strong coding fundamentals, careful experimental judgment, and the ability to make progress independently. Prior chip-design experience is helpful, but you can learn the domain alongside the team’s hardware specialists. In this role, you will: Build RL environments and evaluations for tasks such as RTL generation, design verification, and physical design optimization. Develop and test approaches that help models use chip-design tools and improve power, performance, and area while preserving correctness. Design experiments, establish baselines, and measure whether improvements hold up on new tasks and designs. Investigate failures across model behavior, rewards, evaluation tools, and experiment infrastructure. Improve iteration speed through better tooling, faster evaluations, and proxy rewards that reflect the outcomes we care about. Turn successful experiments into reusable research code and training workflows, working closely with researchers and engineers. You might thrive in this ro

About the Team OpenAI develops models that can reason through complex problems and hardware designed for the demands of advanced AI. AI for Chips connects these efforts: applying increasingly capable AI systems to the work of semiconductor engineering. Our goal is to help engineers develop better chips and shorten design cycles. This work brings research, model training, and hardware expertise together to build tools that engineers can use on real designs, with correctness and measurable performance at the center. About the Role We’re hiring a Software Engineer to build the research infrastructure and tooling that help OpenAI models design silicon. You’ll turn chip-design workflows into reliable environments for reinforcement learning and evaluation, and make it easier for researchers to run experiments and iterate on new ideas. You’ll move between software engineering, tool integration, and open research problems. We value strong coding fundamentals, clear technical judgment, and independent execution. Prior chip-design experience is helpful, but you can learn the domain alongside the team’s hardware specialists. In this role, you will: Build and maintain infrastructure for reinforcement learning environments, evaluations, and long-running experiments. Integrate electronic design automation (EDA) tools into workflows for RTL generation, verification, and physical design optimization. Improve experiment reliability, reproducibility, observability, and performance; debug failures across tools, services, and infrastructure. Develop tooling and model harnesses that let researchers test ideas quickly and measure correctness and power, performance, and area (PPA). Collaborate with researchers and engineers to turn successful experiments into reusable systems and training workflows. Own ambiguous projects end to end, communicate progress, and use results to guide the next iteration. You might thrive in this role if you: Have strong software engineering fundamentals, with

About the Team The HR Business Partner (HRBP) team at OpenAI helps shape how our organization operates and performs. We work alongside senior leaders and their teams to design effective organizations, strengthen leadership capabilities, and help people do their best work. Our expertise spans leadership coaching, organizational design, talent strategy, employee relations, and change management. Our work is grounded in a deep understanding of OpenAI’s Contributions & Impact (C&I) culture and the needs of teams working at the frontier of AI and hardware. We operate with urgency, empathy, and sound judgment. We value sincerity over polish, collaboration over ego, and a relentless focus on meaningful impact. About the Role We’re looking for an experienced HR Business Partner to support OpenAI’s Consumer Device's team. This is an opportunity to partner closely with leaders and teams doing highly ambitious, multidisciplinary work. You’ll serve as a trusted advisor as the organization builds, collaborates, and evolves—helping create the conditions for people and teams to perform at their best. The role combines strategic advising with hands-on partnership. You’ll help leaders think through organizational questions, coach managers through complex situations, strengthen people practices, and make thoughtful trade-offs that balance the needs of our people, teams, and mission. This is an individual contributor role. Come build with us. Your Key Responsibilities Shape high-performing, resilient teams: Partner with leaders on organizational design, talent planning, and ways of working that support strong performance and sustainable teams. Advise with context and judgment: Develop a deep understanding of the organization and provide thoughtful guidance on people, leadership, and organizational matters. Collaborate across OpenAI: Work closely with fellow HRBPs, People centers of excellence, and cross-functional partners to create a cohesive employee experience rooted in hum

About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives. About the Role We are seeking a Mechanical Design Engineer to lead the development of motor mechanical designs and prototype hardware for advanced robotic systems. You will own stator and rotor mechanical development from early concepts and detailed design through hands-on builds and prototype validation, partnering closely with electromagnetic, electrical, test, and manufacturing teams. This role focuses on the design, integration, and validation of motor components and prototype processes, including laminations, stack assemblies, bobbins, winding interfaces, and fixtures. You will help drive motor development from initial design through repeatable low-volume builds while establishing the tooling, work instructions, and validation practices needed for future robotic platforms. This role is based in San Francisco, CA, and requires in-person presence 4 days a week. In this role, you will Own stator and rotor mechanical designs and released CAD and drawings, including geometry, interfaces, fits, tolerances, retention, assembly access, and mechanical validation. Develop laminations, stack assembly methods, bobbins, and winding interfaces that control alignment, insulation, conductor placement, and end-turn packaging. Design, fabricate, and debug fixtures for winding, stacking, assembly, alignment, and inspection. Build and troubleshoot prototypes. Use measurements, defects, rework, and assembly effort to improve designs and processes. Establish low-volume prototype production with equipment, build sequences, work instructions, revision control, traceability

About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives. About the Role We are seeking a Mechanical Engineer to design, build, and own the mechanical side of our robotic actuator dynamometer and test infrastructure. You will create the test stands, couplings, fixtures, load paths, guarding, and serviceable lab hardware that enable rigorous characterization of robotic actuators. This role combines precision mechanical design with hands-on lab work. You will take robotic actuator test infrastructure from requirements and analysis through CAD, fabrication, assembly, commissioning, and iteration, partnering closely with electrical and software engineers to deliver safe, flexible, high-uptime test cells. In this role, you will Own the mechanical architecture of dynamometer and actuator test cells, including frames, bases, load paths, alignment, guarding, and serviceability. Design dynamometer structures, robotic actuator fixtures, load-motor mounts, couplings, shafts, bearings, adapters, and torque-reaction hardware. Translate robotic actuator test requirements into robust mechanical systems for torque, speed, thermal, durability, backdrive, efficiency, and failure testing. Perform first-principles analysis and simulation for stiffness, strength, fatigue, vibration, thermal growth, critical speed, and safety factors. Create precise, repeatable alignment strategies that protect test articles, load machines, sensors, and couplings. Design modular fixturing that supports rapid changeover across actuator and motor variants without compromising measurement quality. Work closely with electrical engineers on cable routing

About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives. About the Role We’re looking for a Robotics Control Systems Engineer to take on a foundational role within our robotics team. You’ll help architect, implement, tune, and verify the control infrastructure that enables intelligent, reliable, and responsive robot behavior. This is a deeply hands-on role focused on real-time systems, actuation, dynamics, low-level hardware interaction, and whole-robot performance. You’ll spend significant time working directly with robots onsite: debugging behavior, tuning subsystems, running experiments, and providing feedback across mechanical, electrical, and software teams. This role is based in San Francisco, CA, and requires in-person 5 days a week. In this role, you will: Design and implement real-time control algorithms for robotic systems, including motion control, feedback loops, state estimation, actuator control, and subsystem tuning. Define the control architecture from low-level actuators and hardware interfaces through whole-robot behavior and policy. Identify and characterize actuator, hardware, and software parameters through rigorous experimentation, testing, commissioning, and verification. Work with machine learning engineers to implement reinforcement learning models. Collaborate across mechanical, electrical, and software teams to integrate control logic with sensing and actuation hardware. Help inform the mechanical and electrical design to maximize capability and flexibility. Create the control system architecture; determine the correct level of abstraction from actuators all the way up to whole-robot

About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and advancing toward AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world environments. Working across the full model and systems stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the physical constraints of real-world systems to improve people’s lives. About the Role We are looking for a PCB Layout Engineer to design high-density electronics for next-generation robotic systems. You will own PCB layout from floor planning through fabrication release, working closely with electrical, SI/PI, mechanical, and manufacturing teams. This role is based in San Francisco and requires in-person presence four days per week. In this role, you will: Own PCB layout, component placement, routing, and fabrication release for complex robotic systems. Collaborate with SI/PI engineers to refine layouts based on simulation results. Implement high-speed routing, controlled impedance, power distribution, decoupling, grounding, EMI/EMC, thermal, and mechanical-integration requirements. Work directly with fabricators and assembly partners to define stack-ups, establish design rules, drive DFM/DFA/DFT reviews, and close findings before release. Prepare fabrication and assembly documentation, including drawings, ODB++, drill files, stack-up tables, and manufacturing notes. Inspect newly received PCBAs and participate in board-level manufacturing failure analysis. Contribute to reusable design constraints and layout workflows, and maintain component-library assets such as symbols, footprints, and 3D models. You might thrive in this role if you: Have 6+ years of experience designing complex, multilayer PCBs. Are fluent in Cadence Allegro PCB Designer and Constraint Manager. Have strong HDI design experience, including fine-pitch BGAs, microvias, blind and buried vias, via-in-pad, and sequential lamination.

About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives. About the Role We are seeking an Electrical Engineer to build and own the electrical backbone of our robotic actuator dynamometer and test infrastructure. You will design, integrate, and operate the load motor drives, power distribution, instrumentation wiring, DAQ interfaces, and safety systems that make high-performance robotic actuator testing repeatable, safe, and scalable. This role spans hands-on lab execution and system architecture: selecting and commissioning power electronics, designing robust test-cell electrical systems, bringing up sensors and DAQ, and partnering with mechanical and software engineers to turn robotic actuator hardware into trustworthy data. In this role, you will Own the electrical architecture of dynamometer and actuator test cells, from mains distribution and protection through load motor drives, braking, and auxiliary power. Specify, integrate, commission, and tune motor drives and load machines for robotic actuator torque, speed, efficiency, thermal, and durability testing. Design power distribution, grounding, shielding, cable routing, and connectorization for high-current, high-voltage, and low-level measurement systems. Integrate torque, position, speed, temperature, voltage, current, vibration, and other instrumentation from robotic actuators into DAQ and control systems. Develop electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, panel layouts, harness documentation, and test-cell interface definitions. Build, debug, and maintain test-cell electrical hardware, rapidly diagnosing noise, EMI, grounding, drive, sensor, and power-q

About Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and advancing toward AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world environments. Working across the full model and systems stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the physical constraints of real-world systems to improve people’s lives. About the Role We are looking for a TPM to drive development and integration of a range of sensor systems for robotics. This role will drive cross-functional alignment across requirements, engineering design, integration, validation, manufacturing, supply chain, and release processes, helping turn complex sensor-system needs into clear plans, decisions, and milestones. Location and in-person expectations: This role is based in San Francisco, CA and requires in-person presence 4 days a week. In this role you will: Drive requirements alignment across engineering design, integration, testing, and validation for camera modules, LiDAR, IMUs, RADAR, proximity sensors, audio components and the systems they interact with. Coordinate the integration of modules including electrical, mechanical, harnessing, and software interfaces with the full robotic system with deep understanding of timelines to drive the respective PCBAs, enclosures, build and test fixtures, connectors and cables. Establish effective cadences for technical reviews, BOM readiness, change management, production releases, approvals, and decision tracking. Align harnesses, fasteners, assembly fixtures, test fixtures, and documentation so cross-functional teams can execute against a clear plan. Lead validation planning around functional, reliability, NVH failure modes, including testing needs, schedules, and exit criteria. Partner with manufacturing and supply chain to manage handoffs, lead times, dependencies, and production readiness. Drive tradeoff decisions across cost, qua

About Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and advancing toward AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world environments. Working across the full model and systems stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the physical constraints of real-world systems to improve people’s lives. About the Role We are looking for a Technical Program Manager to own actuator development and integration from system goals through production readiness. The actuator program spans mechanical, electrical, firmware, harnessing, controls, test, reliability, manufacturing, and supply chain, and needs a TPM who can turn cross-functional decisions into clear scope, executable milestones, and timely decisions. In this role, you will help the team converge on the right technical plan, surface risks early, and deliver reliable actuator systems on schedule. This role is based in San Francisco, CA and requires in-person presence 4 days a week. In this role you will: Drive actuator programs end-to-end, aligning scope, milestones, interfaces, dependencies, and exit criteria across engineering teams. Drive scope lock and technical convergence for sprints, MVPs, and stretch goals while connecting component decisions to system performance. Coordinate actuator development across motors, gears, sensing, electronics, and firmware, and align the electrical and mechanical interfaces that connect actuators to the broader robot. Lead validation planning from early prototypes through engineering validation, reliability testing, and production readiness. Drive tradeoff decisions across cost, quality, performance, schedule, and lead time by collaborating cross-functionally and quantifying impact to meet program deliverables. Establish effective mechanisms for technical reviews, change control, design releases, decision tracking, and manufacturing readiness.

About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives. About the Role We are seeking an Actuator Gear Design Engineer to lead the development of custom gears and gear stages for advanced robotic systems. You will own actuator development from early architecture and concept generation through prototype validation and system integration, partnering closely with mechanical, electrical, controls, firmware, and reliability teams. You will partner with external suppliers and internal manufacturing to create full gearbox assemblies. This role focuses on the design, integration, and validation of precision gearing, including broader knowledge around motor electromagnetics, transmission types, sensing, structural components, and thermal architectures. You will help drive actuator development across the full engineering lifecycle while establishing scalable design, test, and integration practices for future robotic platforms. This role is based in San Francisco, CA, and requires in-person presence 4 days a week. In this role, you will: Lead the architecture, design, and integration of custom robotic actuator gearing. Define actuator requirements and system-level trade studies around torque density, bandwidth, efficiency, thermal performance, back drivability, inertia, reliability, manufacturability, and cost. Design precision electromechanical assemblies with strong attention to tolerances, alignment, load paths, thermal expansion, sealing, wear, and serviceability. Drive actuator integration into robotic systems, partnering closely with controls, firmware, electrical, and robotics software teams to optimize closed-lo

About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives. About the Role We are seeking a senior Actuator Electromagnetic Design Engineer to lead the development of custom electromechanical actuators for advanced robotic systems. You will own actuator development from early architecture and concept generation through prototype validation and system integration, partnering closely with mechanical, electrical, controls, firmware, reliability, and manufacturing teams. This role focuses on the design, integration, and validation of precision electromechanical systems, including motors, transmissions, sensing, structural components, and thermal architectures. You will help drive actuator development across the full engineering lifecycle while establishing scalable design, test, and integration practices for future robotic platforms. This role is based in San Francisco, CA, and requires in-person presence 4 days a week. In this role, you will: Lead the architecture, design, and integration of custom robotic actuators, including the design, simulation, integration and sourcing of custom electromagnetic components. Define actuator requirements and system-level trade studies around torque density, bandwidth, efficiency, thermal performance, inertia, reliability, manufacturability, and cost. Design precision electromechanical assemblies with strong attention to tolerances, alignment, load paths, thermal expansion, sealing, wear, and serviceability. Drive actuator integration into robotic systems, partnering closely with controls, firmware, electrical, and robotics software teams to optimize closed-loop performance. Devel

About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve people's lives. About the Role We are seeking a lead thermal simulation engineer to help accelerate the design and development of next-generation robotic systems through modeling, simulation, and analysis. You will work closely with mechanical, electrical, controls, and robotics engineers to evaluate designs before hardware is built, identify risks early, and guide critical architecture decisions. This role spans structural and thermal analysis and design across robotic subsystems including actuators, mechanisms, structures, electronics, and integrated systems. You will develop simulation workflows that improve engineering velocity, increase confidence in design decisions, and help us build more capable, reliable, and manufacturable robotic platforms. This role is based in San Francisco, CA. This role will be expected to be in office 4 days per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. In this role, you will: Perform thermal simulations to assess heat generation, cooling strategies, thermal interfaces, and system-level thermal performance Partner with mechanical, electrical, and controls engineers to influence design decisions early in development Build simulation models to evaluate robotic actuators, transmissions, mechanisms, structures, soft goods, and integrated assemblies Correlate simulation results with physical testing and develop methodologies to improve model accuracy Support architecture trade studies by evaluating design concepts before hardware is built Develop simulation workflows, standards, and best practices that scale across the robotics o

About the Team The OpenAI Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives. About the Role As a Senior Software Engineer, ML Systems & Training Infrastructure, you will be a deeply hands-on engineering force multiplier for the robotics team. You will help keep the training framework and surrounding infrastructure healthy, review and improve code quickly, debug failures across ML systems and infrastructure, and unblock researchers and engineers when the path from idea to working training job gets rough. We’re looking for people who love writing, reading, reviewing, and fixing code; who can get productive quickly in unfamiliar systems; and who bring strong practical judgment without a lot of ego or process overhead. This role will be based in San Francisco, CA and be expected in office 5 days per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. In this role, you will: Review, improve, and clean up code across training frameworks and adjacent infrastructure. Identify risky or low-quality changes before they land, and raise the code quality bar without slowing the team down. Debug issues across ML training systems, GPUs, clusters, networking, and related infrastructure. Help researchers and engineers unblock broken training jobs, flaky workflows, and brittle internal tooling. Improve the reliability, maintainability, and usability of the robotics team’s training framework. Move quickly on practical engineering problems that directly affect team velocity. You might thrive in this role if you: Have strong software engineering fundamentals and excellent code review judgment. Have experience with ML systems, training fr