Data Infrastructure Engineer Jobs in San Francisco, CA
Data Infrastructure Engineer jobs in San Francisco are concentrated in SoMa, the Financial District, and Mission Bay, driven by demand from fintech, enterprise software, and biotech employers. Employers hiring right now include OpenAI, Pinterest, and Anthropic. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Compute - San Francisco, Seattle, and US - Remote
About the Team
OpenAI’s Compute organization turns ambitious AI research into real-world capability by delivering the compute infrastructure behind our most advanced models. The team works across software, hardware, facilities, operations, and engineering disciplines to make enormous amounts of compute available, reliable, and efficient.
As the demand for frontier AI grows, so does the complexity of the systems required to support it. Scaling this infrastructure means solving problems that cut across distributed systems, ML infrastructure, GPU fleets, power, cooling, networking, manufacturing, supply chain, and data center delivery.
Our work is focused on expanding the compute foundation that enables OpenAI to train more capable models, including systems like GPT-5.6, and make frontier AI available to more people, products, and workflows. We’re looking for exceptional people across many disciplines to help build the next generation of AI infrastructure at a scale few organizations have attempted.
About the Role
We are hiring across a broad range of roles to help design, build, scale, and operate OpenAI’s compute infrastructure. Depending on your background, you may work on large-scale distributed systems, ML infrastructure, hardware systems, manufacturing, supply chain, data center development, or the physical engineering systems required to bring massive compute capacity online.
You’ll work with teams across researchs and facilities from concept to production.
This is an opportunity to work on one of the most important infrastructure challenges in AI: building the compute foundation required to train and serve increasingly capable frontier models.
Key Responsibilities
Help build, scale, and operate OpenAI’s global compute infrastructure.
Solve complex problems across software, hardware, manufacturing supply chain, and data center systems.
Improve the reliabilityance, efficiency, and scalability of critical infrastructure.
Partner with cross-functional teams to bring new compute capacity online quickly and reliably.
Identify bottlenecks across technical, operational, and physical systems, and develop practical solutions.
Build tools, processes, systems, or infrastructure that improve execution at scale.
Contribute to the long-term architecture and operational maturity of OpenAI’s compute footprint.
Qualifications
Have experience building, scaling, or operating complex technical systems.
Enjoy working on ambiguous, high-impact problems where the path forward is not always defined.
Are comfortable collaborating across disciplines, including software, hardware, operations, and physical infrastructure.
Have strong technical judgment and a bias toward execution.
Care deeply about reliability, speed, safety, and operational excellence.
Are excited by the challenge of building infrastructure at unprecedented scale.
Want your work to directly support the development and deployment of frontier AI.
Preferred Skills
Have experience with AI infrastructures.
Have worked on hardware systems, manufacturing, supply chain, data center development, or large capital infrastructure projects.
Have domain expertise in civil, controls, mechanical, hardware, electrical, thermal, power, networking, or facilities engineering.
Have helped bring new technical platforms, data centers, factories, or large-scale systems from concept to production.
Have experience operating in fast-moving environments where technical depth and execution speed both matter.
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 the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employeration, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable lawation technology systems and related data security obligations.
To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.
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.
Compensation
$230K – $490K + Offers Equity
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Find JobsData Infrastructure Engineer Job Market in San Francisco
Who's Hiring
- OpenAI36

- Pinterest12

- Anthropic8

- Waymo4

- Cohere4

Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software20
- Science & Research12
- Artificial Intelligence4
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals4
Data Infrastructure Engineer Jobs in San Francisco: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a data infrastructure engineer job in San Francisco?
Focus your search on SoMa and Mission Bay, where fintech platforms, enterprise software companies, and cloud infrastructure startups cluster most heavily. Hands-on experience with distributed systems, data pipeline tooling, and cloud platforms gives candidates the strongest edge in San Francisco's market. Targeting mid-size technology companies and growth-stage startups alongside larger employers broadens your options considerably in this city.
Which companies hire data infrastructure engineers in San Francisco?
San Francisco data infrastructure engineer roles are posted by OpenAI, Pinterest, and Anthropic and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. San Francisco's mix of established technology firms, fintech companies, and venture-backed startups means hiring activity is spread across both large enterprise employers and smaller high-growth organizations throughout the city.
Are there remote data infrastructure engineer jobs in San Francisco?
Yes, though availability depends on the role: positions involving hands-on hardware, on-premises systems, or data center work are typically on-site, while pipeline engineering and platform development roles are more remote-friendly. About 33% of data infrastructure engineer openings tied to San Francisco are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting the city's strong technology culture. Cloud-focused and analytics-adjacent roles tend to offer the most location flexibility.
How can I get a data infrastructure engineer job in San Francisco with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in San Francisco is through a data engineering associate or junior platform engineer role at a mid-size SoMa or Mission Bay startup, where teams are smaller and scope is broader. Building demonstrable experience with open-source pipeline tools and contributing to public repositories carries real weight with San Francisco hiring managers. Lateral moves from analytics engineering or DevOps roles are also common entry points locally.
Which industries hire the most data infrastructure engineers in San Francisco?
San Francisco data infrastructure engineer roles concentrate in Technology & Software, Science & Research, and Artificial Intelligence, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. San Francisco's density of fintech platforms, enterprise cloud companies, and biotech research organizations creates sustained demand for engineers who can build and maintain large-scale data systems.
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