OpenAI Interview Process & Questions
Updated Oct 25, 2026
OpenAI publishes an example of its interview process with five stages: a résumé review, introductory calls, a skills-based assessment, final interviews, and a decision. It says your experience may differ, and to expect about a week between most stages. The assessment varies by team and can be pair coding, a take-home project or a technical test, and some roles have more than one. Final interviews typically run 4–6 hours with 4–6 people over 1–2 days, virtual by default. Some interviews allow AI tools and others don't; your prep materials say which. Candidates fill in the detail. Engineering screens often pair a coding round with a system design round. Final loops can include code refactoring and a technical deep dive on a project you built. A few roles, such as data and forward deployed engineering, report take-homes. The stages below mark which parts come from OpenAI and which from candidates.
The OpenAI Interview Process
- 1
Application and résumé review (OpenAI-published)
OpenAI says the recruiting team typically takes one week to review your résumé and email you back. It says it isn't credential-driven: it hires both people who are already experts and people with "high potential" who ramp up quickly in a new domain.
- 2
Introductory calls (OpenAI-published)
A recruiting coordinator schedules a conversation with the hiring manager or a recruiter. Be ready to discuss your work, motivations and goals. OpenAI recommends reading its recent updates, especially those related to the team you're interviewing for.
- 3
Skills-based assessment
OpenAI says formats vary by team and may include pair coding, take-home projects or technical tests, sometimes more than one, and you'll hear within a week of each. Candidates report: an April 2024 engineering screen with a coding round (a map-style data structure with create, update and delete) and a system design round (a webhook service). A Staff engineer in July 2025 says the screen's coding and system design rounds aren't repeated later. A data and analytics candidate in May 2026 describes an A/B-test take-home, and a forward deployed engineer in May 2026 a one-week take-home.
- 4
Final interviews
OpenAI says candidates typically do 4–6 hours of final interviews with 4–6 people over 1–2 days, virtual by default or onsite in San Francisco if you prefer. For engineering, it looks for well-designed solutions, high-quality code, optimal performance and good test coverage. Candidates report varied loops: a March 2024 full-stack loop of 2 coding, 2 architecture, 1 technical deep dive and 1 behavioral interview, and a July 2025 Staff loop of code refactoring in CoderPad, a project deep dive with a 4–5 slide presentation, and a behavioral and culture-fit interview.
- 5
Technical deep dive (candidate-reported)
An OpenAI team lead told a podcast in December 2025 that a key round is the "technical deep dive," or a "research discussion" for research roles. You walk through systems you've built, the problems they solved and the trade-offs behind key decisions.
- 6
Decision and references (OpenAI-published)
OpenAI says to expect to hear within one week of your final interviews, and your recruiter may ask for references at this stage.
OpenAI Interview Guides by Role
Role-specific questions and prep tips for OpenAI interviews.
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Customer Success Manager
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Data Engineer
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Data Scientist
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Engineering Manager
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Forward Deployed Engineer
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ML Engineer
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Product Designer
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Product Manager
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Research Engineer
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Research Scientist
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Software Engineer, Compute Infrastructure
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Software Engineer
OpenAI Interview — Frequently Asked Questions
OpenAI doesn't publish an end-to-end timeline, but it says each step usually takes about a week: résumé review, the result of each assessment, and the decision after final interviews. Candidate reports range widely. An OpenAI team lead described going from a recruiter's message on Monday to a signed offer on Friday, and a May 2026 forward deployed engineer candidate says their process took about two weeks.
OpenAI says final interviews typically involve 4–6 people over 1–2 days, after introductory calls and one or more skills assessments. Candidate loops vary: a March 2024 full-stack candidate was scheduled for six final interviews, while a July 2025 Staff engineer had a two-interview screen and then three final interviews. Ask your recruiter for your exact loop.
Some roles have a take-home: OpenAI lists take-home projects among its assessment formats. Candidates describe an A/B-test take-home for a data and analytics role (May 2026) and a one-week take-home for a forward deployed engineer role (May 2026). Some prep sites describe a paid 48-hour work trial for every candidate, but we found no candidate report that backs that up, and several engineering candidates describe loops without one.
It depends on the interview. OpenAI says some formats intentionally allow AI tools and others assess your independent problem-solving without them, and your preparation materials will say which. If you're unsure, ask your recruiter before the interview. A May 2026 data and analytics candidate says OpenAI explicitly encouraged AI tools for their take-home.
OpenAI doesn't publish them, but it says engineering interviews look for well-designed solutions, high-quality code, optimal performance and good test coverage. Candidates describe practical problems rather than puzzles: building a map-style data structure with create, update and delete, then sorting and merging (April 2024), and refactoring a single file of code in CoderPad (July 2025).
OpenAI says it cares about collaboration, effective communication, openness to feedback, and alignment with its mission and values. Its careers page lists the values as Humanity first, Act with humility, Feel the AGI and Ship joy, and its operating principles as Find a way, Creativity over control, Update quickly and Intense focus. Have an example ready for at least two of them.
OpenAI recommends reading its Charter, research publications and blog posts that interest you, plus the Deep Learning Book and Spinning Up in Deep RL for technical roles. Then prepare for the parts candidates describe: practical coding with tests, system design, and a deep dive on a system you built, including the trade-offs you made.
Sources
- OpenAI Interview Guide: hiring philosophy and interview process
- OpenAI Careers: values and operating principles
- OpenAI Charter
- Blind: full-stack SWE final loop, 2 coding, 2 architecture, deep dive, behavioral (Mar 2024)
- Blind: engineering screen with coding and webhook system design (Apr 2024)
- Blind: Staff SWE offer, code refactoring and project deep dive (reply, Jul 2025)
- Business Insider via AOL: an OpenAI team lead's one-week hiring process (Dec 2025)
- Blind: data and analytics take-home where AI tools were encouraged (May 2026)
- Aced (formerly Exponent): forward deployed engineer candidate report (interviewed May 2026)
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