AI in 2024 is inescapable, and one the main companies associated with the tech is OpenAI, whose ChatGPT platform is probably the most recognised chatbot out there.
Whether you want to work with AI, or just join a company that is at the forefront of its industry (with massive financial backing from Microsoft), a career at OpenAI could be right for you.
The company is growing fast, and currently has over 150 roles available globally. We take a look at the jobs available, the interview process, the benefits, and salary ranges for key positions.
What Jobs are Available at OpenAI?
OpenAI currently employs around 1,200 people, and appears to be expanding rapidly, with over 150 positions currently listed on the company’s website.
The roles are spread across the company’s office locations, and there are a wide variety of positions available. While many are tech-based, just like any other company, there are many roles which don’t require specailized tech knowledge.
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For example, there are currently many sales roles available, as well as legal, payroll and customer service positions. Not everyone who works at OpenAI is a software engineer (although naturally, there are lots of these roles available if this happens to be your specialism).
Here are some of the jobs currently listed:
Account Associate, ChatGPT Enterprise, San Francisco
AI Policy Council, San Francisco
Child Safety Engineer, San Francisco
Head of Payroll, San Francisco
Fraud & Risk Analyst, San Francisco
Customer Success Manager, London
Take a look at all the jobs currently available at OpenAI and see if any of them fit you.
What are the Benefits of Working at OpenAI?
OpenAI has been around for less than a decade, but in that time it has had serious investment. In fact it started out with $100 million in funding, and is now bolstered by Microsoft cash.
While it’s hard to call OpenAI a scrappy start up, that is the kind of employee that the company is looking for. How do we know this? It says it right on the recruitment part of its website, describing its process as ‘intense and scrappy’. In human speak, that is basically the company’s way of saying it expects its employees to work hard, and fast. You’ll need to be someone who can thrive in this kind of environment.
The reward for your hard work is that you’ll be working on envelope-pushing AI with a company that is currently front and center of the tech world. This is a chance to get in on the ground floor of a company that could be the next Microsoft or Google.
As for additional benefits, staff can expect flexible working hours, 20 weeks paid parental leave, health insurance, free meals, a development stipend, and….freshly baked cookies, according to OpenAI themselves.
What is the Interview Process Like at OpenAI?
The interview process at OpenAI depends heavily on the role applied for, but on Glassdoor, applicants who have been interviewed by the company rate the process as negative overall (38%), with 35% rating it as positive.
Those applying for engineer positions speak of an initial coding test, followed by a phone call, and then an in-person task, including a task to take home. Those applying for customer roles mention having to record a short video presentation.
Comments suggest that the process can be long winded, with some reviews stating that from start to finish the recruitment took four weeks, while others say it took up to two months. Again, it will depend on the role you’re going for, but you can expect multiple stages, and the process could be time intensive.
Where are OpenAI based, and Can I Work Remotely?
OpenAI is a global brand, and as such it has offices dotted around the world, with new ones opening up on a regular basis. The head office is based in the US, in San Francisco, as you may expect, but it also has premises in London England and Dublin Ireland.
In April 2024, the company expanded its reach to Asia, opening up an office in Tokyo Japan.
Of course, many of us today want to work remotely, or a least hybrid, and this is possible at OpenAI, although with a huge caveat.
At the time of writing, OpenAI is offering a few remote roles, although notably, they’re in countries where the company doesn’t have any offices, such as France and Belgium.
However, before you start getting your resume ready, be warned that Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, is extremely vocal about his hatred of remote work, calling it a ‘failed experiment’, and a ‘mistake’, so unless you’re looking to land one of the roles where OpenAI doesn’t have an office, expect a commute.
If you have your heart set on working remotely, there are plenty of other companies that will let you do just that.
How are the Salaries at OpenAI?
The big question is, if you get through the interview process and impress the company enough to land a job there, how much can you expect to get paid?
It’s a good question, but unfortunately, OpenAI doesn’t display salary information on its job adverts. The good news is that Glass Door has collected real life salaries from OpenAI employees, so we can get a good idea of ranges for certain roles.
It’s worth remembering that the pay package you could be offered will depend on your experience and skillset, so could vary, but ranges at OpenAI are listed as:
Director: $510K to $546K
Advisory Consultant: $208K to $224K
Product Manager: $122k t0 $132k
Research Scientist: $122k to $131k
If you want to expand your AI skills, but don’t want to go as far as working for OpenAI, taking some of the freely available AI courses online is a great way to bolster your skillset.
