Hardware Security Engineer, Trusted Computing and Cryptography
Job Description
- Advanced degree in Computer Architecture, Electrical Engineering, or related fields.
- Familiarity with HPC, low-precision computing, and SIMD architectures.
- Co-design secure hardware with vendors and cross-functional teams.
- Develop performance-critical code in Rust, Python, and C/C++ for crypto libraries and key management.
- Architect and deploy systems using TPM2, Secure Boot, Nitro Enclaves, Intel SGX, AMD-SEV.
- Drive innovation aligning hardware with trusted computing and cryptographic requirements.
- 10+ years industry experience in hardware security or hardware–software co-design.
- Expertise in deploying cryptographic systems at scale and integrating secure hardware primitives.
- Strong coding skills in Rust, C/C++, and Python.
- Ability to collaborate, architect solutions, and debug complex production systems.
- Proactive, ownership-driven mindset with end-to-end problem solving.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
- Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
- 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
- Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
- Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
- 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time
- Mental health and wellness support
- Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
- Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
- Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
- Relocation support for eligible employees
- Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends
About the Team
Security is at the foundation of OpenAI’s mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. The Security team protects OpenAI’s technology, people, and products. We are technical in what we build but are operational in how we do our work, and are committed to supporting all products and research at OpenAI. Our Security team tenets include: prioritizing for impact, enabling researchers, preparing for future transformative technologies, and engaging a robust security culture.
About the Role
Trusted Computing and Cryptography is a core security team at OpenAI focused on deploying high-performance cryptography at scale, secure key management, and trusted hardware enclaves—from boot measurements to GPU confidential computation. As a Hardware Security Engineer, you’ll own hardware security at OpenAI by co-designing secure chipsets and integrating cryptographic techniques into our production systems.
In this role, you will:
- Co-Design Secure Hardware: Collaborate with hardware vendors and cross-functional teams (kernel, compiler, and ML engineers) to design future secure hardware that meets performance and cryptographic needs.
- Develop Critical Software: Write performance-critical code in Rust, Python, and C/C++ to build cryptographic libraries and secure key management systems.
- Integrate Security Primitives: Architect and deploy systems using TPM2, Secure Boot, Nitro Enclaves, Intel SGX, AMD-SEV, and other secure hardware technologies.
- Drive Innovation: Engage with internal and external partners to align hardware innovations with OpenAI’s trusted computing and cryptographic requirements.
You might thrive in this role if you have:
- 10+ years of industry experience in hardware security or hardware–software co-design.
- Proven expertise in deploying cryptographic systems at scale and integrating secure hardware primitives.
- Strong coding skills in Rust and/or C/C++, with proficiency in Python.
- Proven ability to collaborate across teams, architect solutions, and debug complex production systems.
- A proactive, ownership-driven mindset with a focus on end-to-end problem solving.
Nice to Have
- Advanced degree in Computer Architecture, Electrical Engineering, or related fields.
- Familiarity with HPC, low-precision computing, and SIMD architectures.
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, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable law, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act. 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.
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We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.
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