Description
About the team
OpenAI's Forward Deployed Engineering team partners with customers to turn research breakthroughs into production systems. We operate at the intersection of customer delivery and core platform development.
About the role
As a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), you will lead complex end-to-end deployments of frontier models in production alongside our most strategic customers. Your responsibilities will include ownership of discovery, technical scoping, system design, build, and production rollout, partnering directly with customer engineering and domain teams.
Your success will be measured through production adoption, measurable workflow impact, and evaluation-driven feedback that influences product and model roadmaps. You will work closely with our Product, Research, Partnerships, GRC, Security, and GTM teams.
This role is based in Madrid and utilizes a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week. We offer relocation assistance, and travel up to 50% is required.
Responsibilities
- Own technical delivery across multiple deployments from first prototype to stable production.
- Build full-stack systems that deliver customer value and enhance how we learn.
- Work closely with customer teams to understand their needs and guide the adoption of your solutions.
- Scope work, sequence delivery, and remove blockers early.
- Make trade-offs between scope, speed, and quality, adjusting plans as needed to ensure delivery.
- Contribute directly to coding when necessary for progress or clarity.
- Develop tools, playbooks, or building blocks that codify working patterns for others to use.
- Share field feedback that helps Research and Product understand model successes and areas for improvement.
- Maintain team momentum through clear communication and follow-through.
Requirements
- Bring 6+ years of engineering or technical deployment experience, including customer-facing work.
- Professional fluency in Spanish and English is required, as this role supports Spanish-speaking customers.
- Experience in scoping and delivering complex systems in fast-moving or ambiguous environments.
- Ability to write and review production-grade code across frontend and backend using Python, JavaScript, or comparable stacks.
- Experience building or deploying systems powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) or generative models, with an understanding of how model behavior affects product experience.
- Skill in simplifying complexity and making sound decisions under pressure.
- Effective communication with engineers, product teams, and customer stakeholders.
- Ability to spot risks early and adjust plans without slowing down.
- Demonstrate calm and judgment in high-stakes situations.
Benefits
OpenAI offers a range of benefits, but specifics are not provided in the job posting.