OpenAI expands hiring for its Startups technical team across London and Munich
OpenAI has taken to LinkedIn to confirm new hiring across its Startups technical team, with roles available in London and Munich. The update came from Wulfie Bain, who works on applied AI within OpenAI’s Startups function and supports early-stage founders across the EMEA region.
The team works with companies building on OpenAI’s platform, advising on product development, technical feasibility, and model integration. The focus is on supporting startups experimenting with new AI applications and feeding structured findings back into OpenAI’s product and research groups.
Bain referenced the team’s mix of former founders, researchers, and engineers, noting that the environment is geared toward rapid experimentation and close work with customers. As he put it, “A month or so ago we realised on a team meeting that >50% of the people on the call were ex YC backed founders.”
Role focuses on building and scaling customer-facing AI use cases
OpenAI said applicants should expect to work directly with startups building on its models, advising on design choices, prototyping, and scaling. The position sits within the Solutions Architecture function, which supports developers and enterprises deploying generative AI.
The role requires experience in ML engineering or software engineering, with an emphasis on startup environments. OpenAI is looking for candidates comfortable navigating ambiguous technical problems and collaborating with research and product teams to pass on high-fidelity customer feedback.
The job spec also highlights an expectation to contribute to open-source resources, work with customers during early development stages, and help identify practical opportunities to accelerate their adoption of OpenAI’s tools.
Bain wrote that the team is looking for people who are “technical: AI/ML engineer, technical founder/CTO/founding engineer” and “startups obsessed.” He added that candidates should be “tinkerers & builders: love to experiment, prototype, and thrive in fast paced environments.”
OpenAI positions the team as a bridge between startups and product development
The company said the Startups team plays a central role in shaping how its models evolve, using direct market feedback from early users. Bain noted that the team’s remit spans both capability testing and identifying areas where models fall short.
He also signaled that candidates who apply but do not match the role may still be connected to founders hiring across the ecosystem. As Bain put it, “If we chat and decide that it’s not quite the right fit, but you’re a great engineer, I have the privilege of working with a lot of the very top AI founders.”
Bain ended his announcement with a final nudge to engineers who enjoy building in early-stage environments: “TLDR: if you’re an engineer who’s obsessed with AI and loves startups, you should apply… Or if you like excellent company swag.”
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