At a Glance
- Tasks: Solve complex problems to ensure AI safety and integrity across OpenAI's products.
- Company: Join OpenAI, a leader in responsible AI research and deployment.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible work locations, and a chance to make a global impact.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Work on mission-critical challenges that shape the future of AI technology.
- Qualifications: Strong analytical skills, experience with SQL and Python, and a passion for safety.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 € per year.
About the Team
OpenAI’s Safety teams work to ensure our products are safe, trusted, and resilient as frontier AI systems scale globally. We tackle some of the company’s most important challenges across understanding and preventing misuse and misalignment, intercepting fraud and abuse, and protecting vulnerable users. We are hiring Data Scientists to help build the analytical foundations that allow OpenAI to deploy increasingly capable AI responsibly. This is a high-impact role operating at the intersection of product, safety, policy, and research.
About the Role
As a Data Scientist, Safety, you will help solve complex and ambiguous problems where rigorous analysis directly informs critical decisions. Depending on your background and team alignment, you may work on areas such as:
- Measure harmful or abusive behaviour across OpenAI’s products
- Detect fraud, manipulation, coordinated misuse
- Evaluate and improve safety classifiers, rules systems, mitigation systems, and human review workflows
- Design experiments and causal analyses to understand product, policy, and mitigation impacts
- Build prevalence estimators, dashboards, monitoring systems, and executive decision frameworks
- Diagnose gaps in safety and integrity systems using behavioural and product data, and help quantify and navigate false positive / false negative tradeoffs
- Translate ambiguous safety risks into measurable problems and evidence-based recommendations
- Partner with Product, Engineering, Policy, Research, and Operations teams to improve safety outcomes
- Build zero-to-one analytical systems in rapidly evolving domains
Ideal Candidate
We’re looking for strong Data Scientists who thrive in ambiguous, high-leverage environments. You may be a fit if you have:
- Strong statistical reasoning and analytical judgement
- Experience with experimentation, causal inference, or observational analysis
- Strong SQL and Python skills
- Experience working with messy, incomplete, or noisy datasets
- Ability to structure open-ended business or risk problems
- Excellent communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders
- High ownership and comfort operating independently
Helpful backgrounds include:
- Trust & Safety / Integrity
- Fraud & abuse
- Security analytics
- AI/ML model measurement and evaluation
- Alignment and AI safety research
- Biosecurity, synthetic biology, infectious diseases, or computational biology
Why This Role
- Work on mission-critical problems with world-level impact
- Help shape how frontier AI systems are deployed safely
- Operate with unusual ownership and visibility
- Solve novel problems where there are no existing playbooks
- Join highly collaborative teams working across OpenAI
Location
San Francisco, New York, or London depending on team alignment and business need.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.
At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.
Data Scientist, Safety employer: OpenAI
OpenAI is an exceptional employer, offering Data Scientists the opportunity to work on mission-critical problems that have a global impact. With a strong emphasis on collaboration and ownership, employees are encouraged to tackle complex challenges in a supportive environment that values diverse perspectives. Located in vibrant cities like San Francisco, New York, or London, OpenAI provides a dynamic work culture with ample opportunities for professional growth and meaningful contributions to the responsible deployment of AI technology.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Data Scientist, Safety
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the industry, especially those at OpenAI. A friendly chat can open doors and give you insights that a job description just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by diving deep into safety and AI topics. Brush up on your SQL and Python skills, and be ready to discuss how you've tackled complex problems in the past.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your analytical prowess! Bring examples of your work with messy datasets or your experience in fraud detection. Real-world examples can make you stand out.
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you're serious about joining the team.
We think you need these skills to ace Data Scientist, Safety
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Data Scientist, Safety role. Highlight your experience with statistical reasoning, SQL, and Python, and how they relate to the responsibilities mentioned in the job description.
Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills:We want to see how you tackle complex problems! Include examples of how you've approached ambiguous situations in the past, especially those involving data analysis or safety measures.
Communicate Clearly:Your ability to communicate with both technical and non-technical stakeholders is key. Use clear language in your application to demonstrate this skill, and don’t shy away from explaining your thought process.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets the attention it deserves, and we can’t wait to see what you bring to the table!
How to prepare for a job interview at OpenAI
✨Understand the Role
Before your interview, make sure you thoroughly understand the responsibilities of a Data Scientist in Safety. Familiarise yourself with the key challenges mentioned in the job description, such as measuring harmful behaviour and detecting fraud. This will help you articulate how your skills align with their needs.
✨Showcase Your Analytical Skills
Prepare to discuss specific examples of your experience with statistical reasoning, experimentation, and causal analysis. Be ready to explain how you've tackled ambiguous problems in the past, especially using SQL and Python. Highlight any projects where your analysis led to impactful decisions.
✨Communicate Effectively
Since you'll be working with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, practice explaining complex concepts in simple terms. Think about how you can convey your ideas clearly and concisely, ensuring everyone understands your insights and recommendations.
✨Demonstrate Ownership and Independence
The role requires high ownership and the ability to operate independently. Prepare to share instances where you've taken initiative or led projects without much guidance. This will show that you're comfortable navigating uncertainty and can drive results on your own.
