At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build execution environments for AI agents and develop orchestration systems.
- Company: Join OpenAI, a leader in AI research and deployment.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, inclusive culture, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Work in a dynamic environment with a focus on innovation and collaboration.
- Why this job: Be at the forefront of AI technology and make a real impact.
- Qualifications: Experience in distributed systems and a passion for system reliability.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
About the Team
The Codex Core Agent team builds the kernel of Codex. We own making the agent better, accelerating research, and making those improvements real in production for our users.
That means working across the systems that make Codex actually function as an agent in the real world: the production performance envelope around tokens, latency, reliability, cost, and capacity; the core execution loop and interfaces that turn models into useful behavior; the shared infrastructure that enables other teams to build on Codex; and the feedback loops that turn real-world usage into better models and better agent behavior over time.
About the Role
We’re looking for engineers to build the infrastructure that powers Codex agents in production.
This role focuses on the systems that let models safely execute code, interact with tools, complete long-running tasks, and operate reliably and efficiently at scale.
You’ll design and operate the infrastructure behind sandboxed execution, orchestration, stateful workflows, app-server and SDK boundaries, and model rollouts.
You’ll work at the intersection of distributed systems, developer tooling, and AI, building primitives that make Codex faster, safer, more reliable, and easier for the rest of the organization to build on.
- What You’ll Do
- Design and build execution environments for AI agents, including sandboxing, isolation, and reproducibility.
- Develop systems for agent orchestration across multi-step, tool-using workflows.
- Build infrastructure for running, testing, and debugging code generated by models.
- Create state and memory systems that allow agents to persist context across long-running tasks.
- Optimize tokens, latency, reliability, and cost across Codex’s production fleet.
- Support model rollouts, capacity planning, and the core tradeoffs between quality, speed, and economics to manage a fleet of frontier agents at scale.
- Build shared platform capabilities that unblock product teams, partner teams, and open source Codex.
- You Might Be a Good Fit If You
- Have strong experience in distributed systems or infrastructure engineering.
- Have built systems involving containers, sandboxing, or virtualization.
- Are comfortable working across backend systems, APIs, and developer tooling.
- Care deeply about system reliability, performance, and security.
- Enjoy working on ambiguous, zero-to-one problems.
- Want to help build the systems that turn model capability into a dependable software engineering agent.
- Bonus Points
- Experience with code execution platforms, CI/CD systems, or build systems.
- Experience coding in Rust
- Familiarity with LLMs, agents, or tool-use frameworks.
- Background in security engineering or isolation systems.
- Experience building developer platforms, IDE tooling, or open source infrastructure.
- About Open AI
Open AI 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, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
Open AI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates.
For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information.
In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via link.
Open AI Global Applicant Privacy Policy.
At Open AI, 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.
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Software Engineer, Codex Core Agents in London employer: OpenAI
OpenAI is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in London where innovation thrives. With a strong emphasis on employee growth, you will have access to cutting-edge technology and collaborative projects that foster professional development. The company's commitment to reliability and optimization in machine learning ensures that your contributions will have a meaningful impact in the field.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Software Engineer, Codex Core Agents in London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at OpenAI or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
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✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
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We think you need these skills to ace Software Engineer, Codex Core Agents in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at OpenAI.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at OpenAI and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at OpenAI
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If OpenAI uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.