Engineering Manager, Cooperative Systems

About the Team

The Cooperative AI team at OpenAI is focused on scaling the organization by building a model-powered, scaled automated workforce and knowledge system. This system is designed to evolve and learn alongside a human workforce, leveraging OpenAI’s state-of-the-art models to develop autonomous systems for a wide variety of operational work.

The team utilizes real workloads from critical systems across finance, sales, customer support, integrity, product insights, and internal operations to drive insights into product and industry. They partner closely with internal teams and external customers globally, operating in a hyper-fast feedback loop to iterate quickly, validate impact, and accelerate industry-impacting learnings. This highly multidisciplinary, self-contained team is dedicated to transforming the workplace through smart systems, knowledge, and scalable AI capabilities, with a mission to learn fast and revolutionize human-AI collaboration at scale.

About the Role

OpenAI is seeking a hands-on Engineering Manager to lead a small, fast-moving team dedicated to building AI-powered automation systems. These systems are designed to redefine how work is accomplished across OpenAI.

This pivotal role intersects applied AI, research, and product engineering. You will guide a team responsible for creating systems that learn from human interaction and manage real workloads across various departments including sales, support, finance, and IT, all while remaining deeply involved in the technical implementation.

Operating in a highly iterative environment, you will deploy systems directly to internal users, gather rapid feedback, and evolve solutions in real time. This is a high-ownership opportunity for someone passionate about building 0→1 systems, engaging closely with customers, and shaping the future of AI in operational work at scale.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and grow a small team focused on building applied AI systems for internal operations.
• Design and build AI-powered automation systems in close collaboration with customers.
• Maintain a hands-on role in architecture and implementation across the full stack.
• Develop evolving systems encompassing developer tools, automation platforms, knowledge graphs, and data systems.
• Deploy systems directly to internal users and key customers to facilitate rapid iteration based on real-world feedback.
• Engage frequently with scaled workforces to understand their needs and validate solutions.
• Create systems for enhanced visibility and learning within hybrid workforces.
• Partner daily with product, research, and operations teams.

You Might Thrive in This Role If You

• Have 12+ years of experience in engineering, including 3+ years in engineering management, and at least 7 years as an IC engineer.
• Are a hands-on builder comfortable operating across the stack.
• Possess deep experience in applying AI and are eager to experiment with frontier approaches.
• Bring strong technical judgment in systems design, infrastructure, and full-stack development.
• Have a background in building developer tools, internal platforms, or workflow automation systems.
• Enjoy frequent customer interaction and excel in feedback-driven development loops.
• Are comfortable with ambiguity and excited to operate in a rapidly evolving space.
• Have experience in operationally complex environments (e.g., logistics, support systems, internal tooling, warehouse automation).