About this role
Developers struggle to extend artificial intelligence models with external tools, data, and workflows securely and reliably. The Plugin Ecosystem team at OpenAI builds the foundational platforms and product experiences that allow users to connect ChatGPT and Codex to interactive apps, open standards, and custom integrations.
Engineers in this position will develop the backend infrastructure, APIs, and product features that govern how models invoke plugins, handle permissions, and execute tasks smoothly. Depending on individual focus areas, team members might scale generalist identity integrations, optimize backend reliability alongside research scientists, or refine user-facing discovery workflows.
Candidates who succeed here typically possess a strong product sense combined with deep technical capability in designing developer tools or integration-heavy systems. Someone who enjoys untangling ambiguous technical problems, talking directly with users, and bridging the gap between applied artificial intelligence models and practical software interfaces will find a comfortable home in this group.
What you will do
- Design and ship application programming interfaces, software development kits, and services that developers use to extend ChatGPT and Codex.
- Build intuitive product experiences that help users discover, install, and use plugins to accomplish tasks.
- Streamline the process for developers to create, test, publish, update, and share plugins.
- Collaborate with research teams to improve when and how models select and utilize plugins while diagnosing failures as models evolve.
- Enhance plugin reliability, interaction quality, and error recovery across products and interactive apps.
- Implement consistent permissions, approvals, and administrative controls for individuals and organizations.
- Partner with developers and external partners to translate recurring platform hurdles into tooling and documentation improvements.
- Coordinate across engineering, product, research, security, and trust and safety teams to scale infrastructure and ensure safe execution.
What you need
- Prior experience building products that people rely on, such as software development kits, application programming interfaces, developer platforms, or internal tools with active users.
- Strong technical opinions regarding application programming interfaces and abstractions, with the ability to explain underlying design tradeoffs.
- Comfort moving between high-level product strategy and low-level technical execution to take ambiguous problems through to production.
- Proficiency working across both web interfaces and backend systems.
- Ability to collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams and understand user pain points directly from developers.
Nice to have
- Experience with identity, permissions, or integration-heavy systems
- Experience building applied AI systems
- Experience diagnosing model-tool interactions
- Experience measuring reliability and quality in software systems
Benefits
- Offers Equity
- Relocation assistance to new employees
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote work policy for this position?
This role is based in San Francisco and utilizes a hybrid work model requiring three days in the office per week.
What compensation and financial benefits are provided?
The salary range for the role is $185K to $490K, and the position includes offers of equity alongside relocation assistance for new employees.
What technologies and systems will I be working with?
The team works on plugins, skills, connectors, interactive apps, and open standards like the Model Context Protocol to extend ChatGPT and Codex.
Who will I collaborate with on a regular basis?
Engineers work closely with research, product, security, and trust and safety teams, as well as external developers and partners.