Software Engineer, Kernel Performance & AI Tooling

About the Role

The team is working on building the next generation of AI-native silicon while collaborating closely with software and research partners to co-design hardware tightly integrated with AI models. In addition to delivering production-grade silicon for Openai's supercomputing infrastructure, the team also creates custom design tools and methodologies that accelerate innovation and enable hardware optimized specifically for AI.

What You Will Do

• 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 specialized tasks through better datasets, evaluations, benchmarking, and research infrastructure.
• Partner across research and engineering teams to turn new ideas into practical systems spanning production needs and long-term infrastructure strategy.
• Work at the intersection of kernel optimization, developer tooling, observability, and research infrastructure to help define the future of kernel engineering in the era of AI-assisted development.
• Develop and maintain large-scale software systems, including the development of new features and the improvement of existing ones.
• Collaborate with other engineers to identify and prioritize project requirements, and to develop and implement solutions.

What We Are Looking For

• Strong systems or tooling engineering experience, with a background in low-level software, performance optimization, or infrastructure.
• Experience with developer tooling, debugging infrastructure, profiling, observability, or workflow design for technical users.
• Depth in kernel development, accelerator architecture, compiler systems, or related performance-critical domains.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted systems, agentic workflows, post-training, or reinforcement learning for engineering or research applications.
• Strong experimental judgment, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to move fluidly between research exploration and production execution.
• Interest in compilers, DSLs, program synthesis, or AI for systems.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a team.

Nice to Have

• Experience with AI-assisted optimization systems, including the development and deployment of AI models.
• Knowledge of hardware-software co-design principles and practices.
• Familiarity with cloud-based infrastructure and deployment strategies.
• Experience with agile development methodologies and version control systems.

Benefits and Perks

• Competitive salary and equity package.
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI technology and contribute to the development of AI-native silicon.
• Collaborative and dynamic work environment with a team of experienced engineers and researchers.
• Flexible working hours and remote work options.
• Access to the latest tools and technologies, including high-performance computing resources.
• Professional development opportunities, including training and education programs.
• Comprehensive health insurance and retirement benefits.

• Develop a strong understanding of kernel development, performance optimization, and AI-assisted systems to stand out as a candidate.
• Showcase your experience with developer tooling, debugging infrastructure, and workflow design in your portfolio or resume.
• Be prepared to discuss your experience with AI-assisted optimization systems and your ability to work with ambiguity during the interview process.
• Highlight your problem-solving skills and ability to work effectively in a team to demonstrate your fit for the role.
• Research Openai's current projects and initiatives to demonstrate your interest in the company and the role.
• Practice explaining complex technical concepts in simple terms to prepare for the interview.