Applied AI Engineer, Startups

About the role

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Applied AI Engineering team is responsible for ensuring the safe and effective deployment of Generative AI applications for developers and startups. We act as a trusted advisor and thought partner for our customers, working to build an effective backlog of GenAI use cases for their industry and drive them to production through strong technical guidance. OpenAI's customers represent a range of diverse backgrounds and maturity, from early-stage startups to late-stage startups.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a technically proficient, business-minded Applied AI Engineer to help push the frontier of advanced AI with our strategic startup customers. You'll work with some of the most exciting AI startups in the world, guiding them through ideation, development, delivery, and scaling to accelerate and maximize the value of what they build on our platform. You will have the opportunity to work on the most novel and creative use cases being built on our API, serving as a critical partner in collecting and delivering high-fidelity product and model feedback internally. You will collaborate closely with Sales, Solutions Engineering, Applied Research, and Product teams, and you will report to the Startups Applied AI Lead.

This role is based in our Tokyo, Japan office. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL:

- Partner closely with strategic startup customers as their technical thought partner to build novel applications on our API, helping them rapidly move from ideation to scale.

- Provide proactive guidance to maximize business impact and accelerate application development.

- Experiment and prototype alongside customers, demonstrating practical use cases.

- Contribute to open-source resources and scale the function by sharing knowledge, codifying best practices, and publishing useful resources.

- Synthesize and deliver valuable feedback to the Product and Research teams.

- Build relationships within the startup ecosystem, serving as a technical partner to both individual customers and the broader community.

YOU’LL THRIVE IN THIS ROLE IF YOU:

- Have 5+ years of experience as a software engineer, ML engineer or equivalent, ideally in a startup environment; experience as a founder or founding engineer is highly valued.

- Have passion for startups and a belief in their potential to become future large enterprises.

- Are proficient in Python, JavaScript, and a strong grasp of AI/LLM best practices.

- Built and/or delivered prototypes on top of our API platform.

- Can proactively identify opportunities for maximizing our customers’ business value through leveraging the OpenAI API.

- Own problems end-to-end and are willing to pick up whatever knowledge you're missing to get the job done.

- Have a humble attitude, an eagerness to help your colleagues, and a desire to do whatever it takes to make the team succeed.