O

OpenAI

Builds AI models and the ChatGPT assistant

Research Engineer/Research Scientist - Personal AGI, North Stars

Full-Time
$380k - $500k/yr
Mid
San Francisco, CA, USA
HybridThree days in the office per week; relocation assistance is offered.

About the job

Requirements
  • Have a deep understanding of machine learning and machine learning applications.
  • Have a working knowledge of relevant models and building evaluations for model capability improvement.
  • Be comfortable diving into a large machine learning codebase to debug.
Responsibilities
  • Own and pursue a research agenda to improve model capability and performance.
  • Collaborate closely with the other research and product teams, allowing customers to optimize their own models.
  • Build robust evaluations for tracking modeling improvements.
  • Design, implement, test, and debug code across the research stack.
Desired Qualifications
  • Have strong machine learning engineering skills and research experience, and be passionate about creative, product-driven research.

About the company

OpenAI researches and builds artificial intelligence models and turns them into products for people, developers, and businesses, with a stated mission of making sure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Its launch of ChatGPT in 2022 brought generative AI into everyday use. People use ChatGPT to ask questions, write, code, and analyze files, developers build OpenAI's models into their own apps through its API, and its Codex agent works through coding tasks on its own. OpenAI earns money from ChatGPT subscriptions, business plans, and API usage. Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and others co-founded it in 2015; it is based in San Francisco and overseen by a nonprofit, the OpenAI Foundation.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

Late Stage VC

Total Funding

$226.5B

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2015

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Sales are compounding: OpenAI's yearly revenue pace doubled from $24 billion in March 2026 to nearly $50 billion in September.
  • Equity turns into cash regularly: staff sold $7 billion of shares in August 2026, after $6.6 billion in October 2025.
  • Room to grow: OpenAI plans to nearly double staff to 8,000 by year-end and listed 816 openings in October 2026.

What critics are saying

  • Its chief rival pulled ahead: Claude maker Anthropic's $965 billion valuation in May 2026 topped OpenAI's $852 billion.
  • Profits are years away: OpenAI's own forecast, reported in September 2026, shows $278 billion of cash burn through 2030.
  • Expect leadership churn: 15 senior leaders, including the revenue and applications chiefs, left OpenAI between January and September 2026.

What makes OpenAI unique

  • A nonprofit is in charge: the OpenAI Foundation appoints OpenAI's whole board and held a 26% stake in October 2025.
  • ChatGPT reaches about one in seven people on Earth: 1.2 billion used it each week as of September 2026.
  • Microsoft is a major part-owner: it held about 27% in October 2025 and licenses OpenAI's models through 2032.

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Benefits

Health insurance

Dental and vision insurance

Flexible spending account for healthcare and dependent care

Mental healthcare service

Fertility treatment coverage

401(k) with generous matching

20-week paid parental leave

Life insurance (complimentary)

AD&D insurance (complimentary)

Short-term/long-term disability insurance (complimentary)

Optional buy-up life insurance

Flexible work hours and unlimited paid time off (we encourage 4+ weeks per year)

Annual learning & development stipend

Regular team happy hours and outings

Daily catered lunch and dinner

Travel to domestic conferences

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

↑ 6%

1 year growth

↑ 1%

2 year growth

↑ 2%
Business Insider
Oct 10th, 2026
NYU professor: OpenAI's 700+ maths paper dump wiped out early-career researchers' projects

An NYU mathematics professor says OpenAI's release of over 700 mathematical manuscripts has disrupted research by early-career mathematicians. Tristan Buckmaster told CNBC that "whole research programs" were "wiped out" by the Tuesday release on GitHub. Beyond being beaten to solutions, some academics worry about broader impacts. Northwestern University's Bryna Kra warned that releasing so much work at once could undermine mathematics' collaborative culture, potentially making researchers more secretive about sharing unfinished ideas. Buckmaster also raised concerns about whether unpublished work submitted to AI tools may have contributed to OpenAI's results. The company said the release included protocols for revisions and citations. Rutgers professor Alex Kontorovich sees potential benefits, suggesting mathematical training could become more valuable as AI reshapes academic evaluation.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 9th, 2026
Meta's Muse tops App Store as AI agent race heats up with OpenAI's Dots

The race to develop AI agents is accelerating, with Meta's Muse topping Apple's App Store charts as OpenAI announces its competing Dots offering. Research shows that 30-40% of consumers already pay for AI services, with spending forecast to reach $50 billion next year. Companies are currently focused on building consumer habits around AI agents before introducing pricing. Meta's advertising revenue gives it an advantage in subsidising user adoption. City analysts estimate Muse could generate over $27 billion annually by 2030. Industry experts note that whilst OpenAI appears focused on enterprise customers, Meta's integration within its existing platforms provides easier access to small businesses already using Facebook. The competition is driving mainstream AI adoption, with consumer familiarity expected to accelerate workplace adoption of AI agents.

Fortune
Oct 9th, 2026
OpenAI fires three safety team members over alleged policy violations, sparking internal debate

OpenAI fired three safety team members last week, sparking controversy over the dismissals. The employees—Tomek Korbak, Mikita Balesni, and Jasmine Wang—published a letter denying wrongdoing and defending their work with third-party safety auditor METR during the Hugging Face incident investigation. OpenAI said the individuals "mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures", but has not disclosed specific reasons. The fired employees claim OpenAI's actions are "chilling the open culture" and worry the dismissals may discourage staff from raising safety concerns. Korbak said he was told his communication with METR prompted his firing. Wang said she was dismissed for accessing an executive's email, which she had permission to use for recruiting. OpenAI maintains it found "a significant breach of trust" and stands by its decision, whilst affirming its commitment to working with external safety assessors.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 9th, 2026
OpenAI's $50B revenue sparks AI stock sell-off, Nasdaq rebounds 0.6%

US stocks rose Friday morning, with the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%, the S&P 500 gaining 0.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding roughly 64 points. The advance followed Thursday's tech sell-off after CNBC confirmed OpenAI reported $50 billion in annualised revenue at September's end, below the previously reported $68 billion figure. The technology sector showed mixed recovery signals. The XLK technology ETF advanced 1%, whilst Lumentum stock rose 8%. However, Firmus Grid, an Nvidia-backed cloud computing company, scrapped plans for Australia's largest initial public offering in nearly 30 years. Easing geopolitical tensions also supported markets. Oil prices retreated after President Donald Trump pledged not to attack Iran before the midterms. Brent crude traded around $103.33 per barrel.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 9th, 2026
OpenAI targets $70B revenue by 2026, lifting Nvidia and Micron shares

OpenAI told investors it expects annualized revenue to reach or exceed $70 billion by the end of 2026, according to Bloomberg. The projection was shared during discussions around a new fundraising effort. Shares of Nvidia and Micron Technology rose Friday morning following the announcement. OpenAI's enterprise segment is driving the projected growth, with 77% total run rate growth in Q3 and 107% enterprise run rate growth. OpenAI is seeking to raise around $30 billion at a pre-money valuation of $1.4 trillion. The company has held talks with UAE investment funds, including Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Its most recent funding round in March valued OpenAI at $852 billion post-money. OpenAI has delayed its IPO to at least next year after filing its prospectus in June.