OpenAI·Backend Engineer

OpenAI Backend Engineer interview experience

No offer

Medium

Positive

San Francisco, CAPosted Apr 2026 · Candidate report, summarized by Dataford

I went through a phone-screen-first process for Software Engineering that combined practical coding with system design, then moved into an onsite that stayed fairly fundamentals-based.

Recruiter screen — I did a longer initial call that mixed coding and system design with a break in between.
Onsite (full day) — I attended a 4-hour onsite after the recruiter call.
Phone screen (coding + system design) — I also experienced a variant where both parts were reasonable and emphasized fundamentals rather than tricky LeetCode-style patterns. Outcome: I didn’t end up with an offer, but the overall structure felt transparent and fair, especially in how the interviews tested fundamentals.

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