Optical Interconnect System Engineer

OpenAI•San Francisco, CA

2d•$342,000 - $445,000

About The Position

OpenAI’s Hardware organization develops silicon and system-level solutions designed for the unique demands of advanced AI workloads. The team is responsible for building the next generation of AI-native silicon while working 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. We're looking for an Optical Interconnect System Engineer to design, qualify, and deploy scalable optical connectivity for large-scale AI infrastructure. This role spans fiber-system architecture, optical-mechanical integration, validation, reliability, deployment, and serviceability. You will work with optical, mechanical, electrical, networking, manufacturing, reliability, and data-center teams to translate system needs into practical interconnect solutions. This is a hands-on role for someone who can connect design decisions with installation, qualification, troubleshooting, and long-term operational performance.

Requirements

Experience designing and deploying large-scale optical systems, including cross-rack integration.
Experience with high-density fiber architecture, routing, installation, testing, and troubleshooting.
Hands-on optical-mechanical design and system-integration experience.
Experience qualifying fiber assemblies and optical interconnect systems for performance and reliability.
Validation experience across optical modules, switching platforms, and integrated hardware systems.
Strong system-level problem solving and cross-functional communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing optical connectivity for large-scale compute or network systems.
Experience with scalable fiber infrastructure and modular interconnect design.
Knowledge of network architecture and topology.
Experience developing reusable optical-interconnect standards and qualification methods.

Responsibilities

Define optical interconnect architectures and requirements across hardware platforms and rack-level systems.
Design high-density fiber systems for performance, density, reliability, installation, and serviceability.
Lead optical-mechanical integration and cross-functional design reviews.
Develop test and qualification plans for optical components, modules, switching platforms, and integrated systems.
Own optical loss budgets, routing guidelines, handling requirements, and serviceability criteria.
Support system bring-up, deployment, troubleshooting, failure analysis, and reliability improvement.
Create reusable design guidelines, interface requirements, and qualification methods.