Software Engineer, Privacy Engineering (Lawful Access)

About the role

The Privacy Engineering team at OpenAI builds secure, reliable systems that enable lawful data access while protecting user privacy. As a full‑stack Software Engineer you will create internal tools and data pipelines that power the end‑to‑end workflow for lawful requests and Legal Operations.

Key responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate backend systems and workflow tooling for the full lifecycle of lawful data access requests, from intake to audit.
• Build reliable data pipelines and interfaces across products and data stores so authorized teams can locate and handle records accurately.
• Implement least‑privilege access, approval gates, provenance, audit trails, data minimization, and safe failure modes for sensitive workflows.
• Partner with Legal and Legal Operations to translate legal requirements into clear technical designs and intuitive operator experiences.
• Identify automation opportunities that reduce repetitive work while preserving human review and accountability.
• Own production systems through testing, observability, incident response, documentation, and continuous reliability improvements.
• Help define architecture and roadmap for reusable privacy and legal‑infrastructure foundations as OpenAI’s products evolve.

Required profile

• Experience building or operating systems for lawful data access requests and understanding of privacy, security, and auditability constraints.
• Strong backend engineering fundamentals and experience building production services or data‑intensive systems.
• Ability to reason carefully about correctness, authorization, security, and privacy when handling sensitive data.
• Track record of turning ambiguous requirements into pragmatic plans and communicating technical trade‑offs clearly.
• End‑to‑end ownership mindset and comfort learning unfamiliar products and domains.
• Focus on operator experience and drive to make complex workflows safer, clearer, and more efficient.
• Experience collaborating across Engineering, Legal, Operations, Privacy, and Security stakeholders.