Full-Time

Research Engineer

Retrieval & Search, Applied Engineering

Updated on 4/22/2025

OpenAI

OpenAI

1,001-5,000 employees

Develops safe and beneficial AI technologies

Compensation Overview

$325k - $590k/yr

Senior, Expert

San Francisco, CA, USA

Category
Applied Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
AI & Machine Learning
Required Skills
Machine Learning
Requirements
  • Have extensive prior experience building and maintaining production machine learning systems.
  • Have prior experience working with vector databases, search indices, or other data stores for search and retrieval use cases.
  • Have prior experience building and iterating on internet-scale search systems.
  • Own problems end-to-end, and are willing to pick up whatever knowledge you're missing to get the job done.
  • Have the ability to move fast in an environment where things are sometimes loosely defined and may have competing priorities or deadlines.
Responsibilities
  • Work on retrieval & search algorithms and methodologies in close collaboration with our research team, including problems in such domains as document search, enterprise search, knowledge retrieval, and web-scale search.
  • Deploy these search methodologies into production in both the API and ChatGPT to be used by millions of end users.
  • Explore novel research topics in retrieval & search that may inform our product strategy in the medium and long term.
  • Partner with researchers, engineers, product managers, and designers to bring new features and research capabilities to the world.
  • Help create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture that makes all feel welcome while enabling radical candor and the challenging of group think.

OpenAI develops artificial intelligence technologies aimed at benefiting humanity. The company creates advanced AI models that can perform various tasks, such as automating processes and enhancing creativity. OpenAI's products, like Sora, allow users to generate videos from text descriptions. What sets OpenAI apart from competitors is its capped profit model, which limits profit generation to ensure that excess earnings are used for social and economic benefits. This approach emphasizes safety and ethical considerations in AI development. OpenAI's goal is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) is developed responsibly and benefits all of humanity.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

Late Stage VC

Total Funding

$63B

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2015

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • $40 billion funding round positions OpenAI for significant growth and expansion.
  • Acquisition talks with Windsurf could enhance AI-powered software development capabilities.
  • Memory with Search feature improves AI-driven web search efficiency and accuracy.

What critics are saying

  • Increased competition from well-funded AI startups like Anthropic and SandboxAQ.
  • Potential integration challenges with Windsurf acquisition affecting operational efficiency.
  • Cheaper AI models like Flex Processing might impact revenue from high-end clients.

What makes OpenAI unique

  • OpenAI's capped profit model ensures ethical AI development and social benefit.
  • Flex Processing offers cost-efficient AI solutions, appealing to startups and smaller companies.
  • ImageGen API provides advanced image creation, attracting creative industries to OpenAI.

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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

35%

1 year growth

29%

2 year growth

27%
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OpenAI has launched ImageGen in its API, putting powerful image creation directly in developers' hands.

TechCrunch
Apr 23rd, 2025
OpenAI raises $40B funding round

In 2025, 19 U.S. AI startups have raised $100 million or more. Notable rounds include OpenAI's $40 billion round led by SoftBank, valuing it at $300 billion. Anthropic raised $3.5 billion, valuing it at $61.5 billion. SandboxAQ secured $450 million, and Runway raised $308 million. Other significant rounds include Lambda's $480 million and Shield AI's $240 million. The trend of large funding rounds from 2024 continues, with multiple billion-dollar rounds already in 2025.

Neowin
Apr 23rd, 2025
OpenAI brings its latest image generation model to the API for developers

OpenAI is working on support for the Responses API, and it will be coming soon.

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Apr 19th, 2025
For Web searches ChatGPT Now Use "Memory"

OpenAI subtly revealed "Memory with Search" on Thursday in a changelog and help pages on its website.

AutoGPT
Apr 18th, 2025
OpenAI Introduces Cheaper AI, Flex Processing

OpenAI has launched Flex processing as a more affordable option for developers using its o3 and o4-mini models.