Staff/Senior Staff Backend Engineer – B2B Flywheel

OpenAI

. Design, build, and operate backend systems that capture and process critical product, usage, and customer signals across B2B and API surfaces .

Posted 5/14/2026full-timeSan Francisco • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $293,000 - $385,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Distributed Systems

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Design, build, and operate backend systems that capture and process critical product, usage, and customer signals across B2B and API surfaces
Build reliable data pipelines and infrastructure that help translate raw signals into actionable insights, model evaluations, training datasets, and product improvements
Work on high-traffic, low-latency services in constrained environments, including systems with strict privacy and data-handling requirements
Collaborate closely with data science, research, product, and infrastructure partners to identify user pain points, measure system behavior, and improve product quality
Help develop the system needed to support model and product feedback loops, including signal capture, evaluation datasets, classifiers, and analytical tooling
Operate with high ownership in a small team where priorities may shift quickly and the work spans multiple engineering domains

Requirements

What you’ll need

7+ years of professional backend engineering experience, ideally in high-scale, product-driven, or infrastructure-heavy environments
Strong backend engineering fundamentals, including distributed systems, API services, data modeling, reliability, performance, and production operations
Experience building or maintaining data pipelines, event systems, logging/telemetry infrastructure, or large-scale data processing systems
Comfort working near data science, statistics, ML, or research engineering workflows; direct experience is strongly preferred, but not required
Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous environments where problems are loosely defined and ownership boundaries are broad
High agency, strong execution velocity, and a willingness to wear multiple hats across backend engineering, data infrastructure, and applied research-adjacent work
Experience in fast-paced startups, early teams, or similarly high-ownership environments is a plus
Interest in AI systems, enterprise products, and building the infrastructure that helps improve products and models through real-world usage signals.

Benefits

Comp & perks

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.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

backend engineeringdistributed systemsAPI servicesdata modelingdata pipelinesevent systemslogging infrastructurelarge-scale data processingperformance optimizationproduction operations

Soft Skills

high ownershipstrong execution velocityability to operate in ambiguous environmentscollaborationproblem-solvingadaptabilityinterpersonal skillsteamworkcommunicationmulti-tasking