Forward Deployed Security Engineer

Forward Deployed Security Engineer

Security – Washington, DC

Security is at the foundation of OpenAI’s mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. The Security team protects OpenAI’s technology, people, and products. We are technical in what we build but are operational in how we do our work, and are committed to supporting all products and research  Security team tenets include: prioritizing for impact, enabling researchers, preparing for future transformative technologies, and engaging a robust security culture.

Our technologies support some of the most important and impactful work in the world, including our strategic and high‑impact customers in the public sector. As a Forward Deployed Security Engineer (FDSecE) you will be responsible for securing these novel applications of OpenAI’s technology. We’re looking for motivated, tenacious, and curious people who will work closely with engineering teams to ensure our infrastructure deployments are highly secure against our adversaries.

As an FDSecE, you will embed directly throughout the lifecycle, working on‑site and being hands‑on to ensure the overall security of these deployments from design to production and through ongoing operations.

This role is preferred to be based in Washington DC but may consider remote work. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. Travel to and working from customer sites is required for this role.

• Deeply embed with our most strategic public sector customers to implement and maintain robust security controls.
• Be a design and technical thought partner by leveraging security expertise on protective controls including access controls, authentication, encryption, network, and system security.
• Collaborate closely with teammates, cross‑functional teams, customers, and service providers to achieve security and compliance goals.
• Ensure continuity of critical security and monitoring controls through routine security assessments, threat monitoring, and security validation exercises.

• An active US security clearance.
• 5+ years of security engineering experience, with an emphasis on infrastructure security, application security, network security, datacenter security, and systems engineering.
• Familiarity with deployment models, including to cloud platforms (Azure, AWS) and the underlying infrastructure primitives (Kubernetes, Terraform).
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Golang, or similar.
• A proven track record of developing high‑quality, scalable, and secure infrastructure.
• Experience with security operations including insider threat monitoring, network/endpoint detection and response, or red team or penetration testing operations.
• Comprehensive knowledge of modern adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures.
• The ability to work collaboratively and effectively in a cross‑functional team environment.
• Thrive in dynamic environments and can navigate ambiguity with ease.

$293K – $385K + Equity

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.