Systems Software Engineer, Silicon Bringup

About the Team OpenAI’s Hardware organization develops AI-native silicon and system-level solutions for the unique demands of advanced AI workloads. Building on efforts like Jalapeño, the team is developing future generations of AI-native silicon and tightly integrated systems to power the next generation of frontier models. By co-designing chips, systems, tools, and methodologies, the team helps deliver faster, more efficient, and production-ready hardware for OpenAI’s supercomputing platform. About the Role You will work on the systems software strategy and execution that brings new AI silicon from first power-on to a fully integrated system running production-representative models at expected functionality and performance. You will define how software exercises and validates compute, memory, interconnect, and I/O subsystems, then build the diagnostics, automation, and observability needed to find issues quickly. This role sits at the center of silicon, firmware, platform, systems, and workload teams. You will turn hardware specifications and performance targets into an end-to-end bringup plan, drive cross-functional debug, and establish the stress and regression infrastructure that makes each new platform reliable across operating environments. In this role, you will: - Contribute to the end-to-end software bringup and validation strategy for new silicon and first-party systems. - Define software-driven test coverage across compute, memory, interconnect, I/O, and their system-level interactions. - Build diagnostics, test automation, telemetry, and regression infrastructure that accelerate first-silicon learning and issue isolation. - Lead bringup from initial silicon arrival through board and system integration, docking, runtime enablement, and model execution. - Design stress tests that characterize reliability, performance, and stability across workloads and operating conditions. - Translate architecture specifications and performance models into measurable acceptance criteria, coverage goals, and pass/fail signals. - Debug complex hardware-software failures, drive root-cause analysis, and coordinate fixes across silicon, firmware, electrical, platform, and workload teams. - Validate that integrated systems deliver expected functionality and model performance, and turn bringup learnings into reusable infrastructure for future generations. You might thrive in this role if you: - Have strong systems programming experience in C, C++, Rust, Python, or comparable low-level environments. - Have brought up or validated complex silicon, accelerators, servers, or other hardware-software systems. - Understand computer architecture and the behavior of compute, memory, interconnect, and I/O subsystems. - Are skilled at low-level debugging across firmware, drivers, operating systems, and hardware interfaces. - Can create a rigorous test strategy, reason about coverage gaps, and build scalable automation and observability. - Have experience with performance characterization, stress testing, reliability testing, or production readiness. - Communicate clearly across disciplines and can drive ambiguous, high-stakes technical work from plan through closure. - Care deeply about building durable tools and processes that make subsequent bringup cycles faster and more predictable. To comply with U.S. export control laws and regulations, candidates for this role may need to meet certain legal status requirements as provided in those laws and regulations. About OpenAI OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement. Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in

Strong systems programming experience in C, C++, Rust, and Python. Experience bringing up or validating complex silicon, accelerators, servers, or other hardware–software systems. Understanding of computer architecture and the behavior of compute, memory, interconnect, and I/O subsystems. Proficiency in low-level debugging across firmware, drivers, operating systems, and hardware interfaces. Ability to design rigorous test strategies, reason about coverage gaps, and build scalable automation and observability. Experience with performance characterization, stress testing, reliability testing, or production readiness.

Contribute to the end-to-end software bringup and validation strategy for new silicon and first-party systems. Define software-driven test coverage across compute, memory, interconnect, I/O, and their system-level interactions. Build diagnostics, test automation, telemetry, and regression infrastructure that accelerate first-silicon learning and issue isolation. Lead bringup from initial silicon arrival through board and system integration, docking, runtime enablement, and model execution. Design stress tests that characterize reliability, performance, and stability across workloads and operating conditions. Translate architecture specifications and performance models into measurable acceptance criteria, coverage goals, and pass/fail signals. Debug complex hardware-software failures, drive root-cause analysis, and coordinate fixes across silicon, firmware, electrical, platform, and workload teams. Validate that integrated systems deliver expected functionality and model performance, and turn bringup learnings into reusable infrastructure for future generations.