Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), Life Sciences - NYC

OpenAI, Inc.

Job Overview

Location

New York City

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• The Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) role at OpenAI is critical to bridging cutting-edge AI research with real-world impact in life sciences, ensuring that advanced models are not only technically sound but also practically deployable in regulated, high-stakes environments such as drug discovery, clinical development, and regulatory submissions. This role directly enables scientific progress by translating frontier AI into trusted, auditable systems that accelerate research timelines and improve decision-making in pharmaceutical and biotech organizations.
• Day-to-day responsibilities include owning end-to-end AI deployments from initial customer scoping through production launch and ongoing optimization; collaborating with domain experts in biotech, pharma, and clinical research to translate complex scientific workflows into clear technical requirements; defining validation strategies, acceptance criteria, and evaluation frameworks tailored to regulated environments; enforcing auditability, traceability, and compliance standards in deployed systems; analyzing model performance and errors to drive iterative improvements in both customer implementations and OpenAI’s platform; and synthesizing deployment insights into reusable technical assets such as reference architectures, benchmark harnesses, and validation templates that can be scaled across multiple life sciences clients.
• The Forward Deployed Engineering team operates at the intersection of OpenAI’s core platform and real-world application, working closely with Research, Product, Engineering, Security/GRC, and Business teams to turn early customer engagements into scalable product patterns. Based in New York City with a hybrid model (3 days in-office), the team values deep technical ownership, cross-functional collaboration, and a mission-driven approach to deploying AI safely and effectively in complex, regulated industries.
• In this role, you will develop deep expertise in deploying AI within life sciences contexts, gaining hands-on experience with regulatory considerations, scientific validation practices, and enterprise AI adoption challenges. You will sharpen your ability to operate as a trusted technical advisor to senior scientific and executive stakeholders, influence OpenAI’s product and model roadmap through field-driven feedback, and build a portfolio of reusable systems and validation practices that set new standards for trustworthy AI in healthcare and scientific research.

🎯 Requirements

• 6+ years of experience in software engineering, ML/AI, or deployment engineering with proven customer-facing ownership in biotech, pharma, clinical research, scientific software, or related technical domains.
• Demonstrated ability to act as a senior engineer, tech lead, or deployment owner trusted to make independent technical decisions in ambiguous, high-stakes environments involving scientific, regulatory, or compliance constraints.
• End-to-end ownership of customer-facing GenAI or AI system deployments, from initial scoping and requirements gathering through production adoption, launch readiness, and post-launch optimization.
• Experience designing and implementing evaluation frameworks, conducting error analysis, and using deployment learnings to refine model selection, system design, and acceptance criteria over time.
• Proven track record delivering AI systems in life sciences workflows such as drug discovery, clinical development, regulatory writing, submissions, or scientific operations where validation strategy, auditability, compliance, and reviewer expectations directly influenced system architecture and rollout.
• Exceptional communication skills tailored to diverse audiences — including scientists, clinicians, model researchers, engineers, and executives — with the ability to translate technical tradeoffs into clear decisions, operating procedures, and measurable outcomes.

🏖️ Benefits

• Hybrid work model with 3 days per week in OpenAI’s New York City office, balancing in-person collaboration with flexibility.
• Relocation assistance provided for candidates moving to the New York City area to support a smooth transition.
• Opportunity to work on high-impact, mission-driven projects that deploy frontier AI models to solve real-world challenges in healthcare and scientific discovery.
• Access to OpenAI’s cutting-edge research, models, and platform, with direct influence on product evolution through field feedback and deployment insights.
• Professional growth in a unique role that combines deep technical engineering with strategic customer engagement and regulatory awareness in the life sciences sector.
• Comprehensive health, wellness, and financial benefits package aligned with OpenAI’s commitment to employee well-being and long-term success.

Skills & Technologies

Hybrid

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OpenAI, Inc.

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About OpenAI, Inc.

OpenAI is a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research and deployment company founded in 2015. It develops large-scale AI models such as GPT, DALL-E, and Codex, providing cloud APIs and consumer applications like ChatGPT. Originally established as a non-profit, it later created a capped-profit subsidiary to attract capital while maintaining its mission to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

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