OpenAI· Model Deployment for Business· San Francisco
Platform Engineering Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE)
Comp$302K – $335K
Classified Tasks (31)
Automate 0%Augment 26%Human-Only 74%
Augment (8)
AI assists, human decides
Architect solutions for customer-facing platform work while embedded with pods
technical
Refactor code and systems to create reusable, maintainable platform components
technical
Harden systems for enterprise readiness, including reliability and operational resilience
technical
Build reusable abstractions and platform capabilities from deployment learnings
technical
Specify measurable adoption outcomes and track adoption for platform bets
analytical
Translate deployment signal into reusable capabilities suitable for handoff
technical
Instrument usage and outcomes for shipped software to capture deployment signal
technical
Iterate product and engineering work quickly based on real-world adoption and constraints
operational
Human-Only (23)
Requires human judgment
Lead a small Platform FDE team that acts as a multiplier for the broader FDE org
leadership
Increase the rate at which customer-grounded ideas become durable, generalizable platform bets
operational
Partner with customer-tagged FDE pods to support delivery and customer outcomes
operational
Embed Platform FDE capacity within customer pods where it provides the highest leverage
operational
Shape product direction for platform-incubation efforts in collaboration with pods and partners
leadership
Preserve pod ownership of customer understanding and day-to-day execution during embeds
leadership
Collaborate with B2B Platform and other long-term owners to align on generalization vs customer-specific scope
operational
Define and align on handoff criteria for platform capabilities to long-term owners
operational
Manage a focused portfolio of platform incubation work with explicit hypotheses and success criteria
leadership
Sequence platform work and steer direction for a small number of high-signal problems
leadership
Hand off validated platform capabilities cleanly to long-term owners
operational
Ensure the team ships working software with design partners
operational
Partner early with long-term owners to align on architecture, interfaces, and integration points
technical
Define and align security and governance requirements for platform work with partner teams
operational
Stay engaged with validation and the path to scale through handoff to long-term owners
operational
Set standards for design, code quality, testing, observability, and operational readiness
leadership
Enforce engineering standards appropriate for enterprise use across deliverables
operational
Coach engineers through direct feedback and clear expectations
leadership
Develop durable team mechanisms that reinforce execution and ownership
leadership
Establish clear responsibility boundaries between your team, customer pods, and partner organizations
leadership
Make tradeoffs under ambiguity and exercise high judgment in decision-making
leadership
Communicate decisions crisply across multiple stakeholders to drive alignment
communication
Drive outcomes through partnership with cross-functional stakeholders
leadership
Job description
Platform Engineering Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) | OpenAI Careers ## Platform Engineering Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) Model Deployment for Business - San Francisco Apply now(opens in a new window) **About the team** OpenAI’s Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) org sits at the intersection of product, engineering, research, and go-to-market. We take frontier platform capabilities into the real world with design partners, turning raw customer signal into shipped software, repeatable patterns, and durable products. The FDE Platform team is primarily a leverage function that scales the FDE org’s impact to OpenAI’s platform and products. We provide hands-on leverage by embedding with customer-tagged FDE pods to aid in architecting, product shaping, refactoring, and building. This team is perfect for highly collaborative software engineers who love innovating on cutting-edge products with other builders. **About the role** As the Engineering Manager for Platform FDE, you will lead a small team that acts as a multiplier for the broader FDE org. Your mandate is to increase the rate at which customer-grounded ideas become durable, generalizable platform bets, by providing hands-on product and engineering leverage to customer-tagged pods. You will partner with customer-tagged FDEs who are driving delivery and customer outcomes, and embed Platform FDE capacity where they can provide the highest leverage. In practice that means working in the trenches on architecture, product shaping, refactoring, hardening, and reusable abstractions, while preserving the pod’s ownership of customer understanding and day-to-day execution. You will also collaborate closely with our B2B Platform Team and other long-term owners to align early on what should generalize, what should remain customer-specific, and what “ready for handoff” looks like. This role requires a combination of engineering leadership and strong product-oriented judgment. You will manage a focused portfolio of platform incubation work with explicit hypotheses, success criteria, and measurable adoption outcomes, and you will be accountable for translating deployment signal into reusable capabilities that can be handed off cleanly to long-term owners. You will be expected to lead through influence across multiple stakeholders, uphold a high technical bar, and establish clear responsibility boundaries between your team, customer pods, and partner organizations. This role is based in **San Francisco or New York City** and is not a travel role. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week. We offer relocation assistance. Travel is optional-by-project and typically <10%, with occasional spikes for key embeds or launches. **In this role you will** * **Guide a focused portfolio of platform bets:** Steer direction for a small number of high-signal problems, with clear hypotheses, success criteria, sequencing, and measurable adoption outcomes. * **Build and validate with customers:** Ensure the team ships working software with design partners, instruments usage and outcomes, and iterates quickly based on real-world adoption and constraints. * **Co-develop with long-term owners:** Partner early with B2B Platform (and other durable owners) to align on architecture, interfaces, security/governance requirements, and handoff criteria, staying engaged through validation and the path to scale. * **Maintain a high engineering bar:** Set and enforce standards for design, code quality, testing, observability, and operational readiness appropriate for enterprise use. * **Grow and develop the team:** Coach and develop engineers through direct feedback, clear expectations, and durable team mechanisms that reinforce execution and ownership. * **Operate with high judgment and influence:** Make clear tradeoffs under ambiguity, communicate decisions crisply across stakeholders, and drive outcomes through partnership rather