Manufacturing Test Engineer at OpenAI in San Francisco, CA

ABOUT THE TEAM: OpenAI’s Hardware organization develops silicon and system-level solutions designed for the unique demands of advanced AI workloads. The team is responsible for building the next generation of AI-native silicon while working closely with software and research partners to co-design hardware tightly integrated with AI models. In addition to delivering production-grade silicon for OpenAI’s supercomputing infrastructure, the team also creates custom design tools and methodologies that accelerate innovation and enable hardware optimized specifically for AI. ABOUT THE ROLE We are seeking a Manufacturing Test Engineer to own and drive manufacturing test strategy, development, and execution for complex AI hardware systems. This role will define and implement test coverage across the product lifecycle, including ICT, functional circuit test, tray-level functional test, and system manufacturing test. You will work closely with hardware design engineering, diagnostic/software teams, manufacturing engineering, quality, and external system integrators and suppliers to translate product requirements into robust, scalable, and production-ready test solutions. You will also play a key role in reviewing test data, debugging failures, improving yield, and ensuring manufacturing test readiness from early development through volume production. IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL: - Define and drive the manufacturing test strategy for boards, trays, and system-level hardware assemblies across EVT, DVT, PVT, and production ramp. - Develop and manage test coverage for: - ICT / structural test - FCT / board-level functional test - Tray-level functional and integration test - System-level manufacturing and bring-up test - Partner closely with electrical engineering, system engineering, and diagnostic/software teams to define test requirements, review manufacturing test scripts and diagnostics, validate failure isolation needs, debug hooks, logging, and production screening strategies. - Translate engineering requirements into practical, scalable manufacturing test plans that balance coverage matrices; review and approve EVT/DVT/PVT and production test plans, pass/fail criteria and release gates while balancing coverage, test time, debug efficiency, cost, and production throughput. - Collaborate with system integrators, JDMs, contract manufacturers, and equipment vendors to implement and qualify test stations, fixtures, automation, software, equipment configurations, calibration plans, operator procedures, golden-unit correlation and production workflows. - Review and analyze manufacturing test results, test logs, diagnostic outputs, yield trends, failure paretos, false-failure rates, and station correlation data to identify gaps and drive corrective actions. - Lead or support debug of manufacturing test failures, working cross-functionally to determine whether issues stem from design, process, fixture, software, component, or operator variation. - Drive continuous improvement of test processes, including coverage expansion, cycle-time reduction, parallelization opportunities, power & cooling efficiency optimization, station reliability, data quality, and test escape prevention. - Ensure manufacturing test readiness for new product introduction, including test specifications, validation plans, GR&R/correlation studies, station acceptance, and production release criteria. - Help establish scalable standards and best practices for manufacturing test development across OpenAI’s rapidly growing hardware portfolio. YOU MIGHT THRIVE IN THIS ROLE IF YOU: - Have experience developing and deploying manufacturing test solutions for complex electronics, servers, networking systems, or high-performance compute hardware. - Understand board-level and system-level test methodologies, including ICT, boundary scan, functional test, burn-in, stress test, and production diagnostics. - Are comfortable working across both engineering development and factory execution, and can bridge the gap between design intent and production implementation. - Have strong hands-on debugging skills and can use test data, BMC/Host logs, diagnostic logs, power & thermal telemetry, schematics, and lab measurements to identify root causes efficiently and drive corrective action. - Communicate clearly with internal teams and external partners, especially when aligning on requirements, debugging ambiguous issues, and driving closure under schedule pressure. - Enjoy operating in a fast-moving, high-ownership environment with significant ambiguity and high expectations for execution. QUALIFICATIONS - Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. - 5+ years of experience in manufacturing test engineering, product test, NPI test development, or related hardware test roles. - Experience with one or more of the following on servers and/or AI Accelerators: - ICT or structural board test - Board-level functional test development - Tray, chassis, or system-level manufacturing test - Production diagnostics and debug workflows - Test fixture, rack, or station development - Experience working with contract manufacturers, JDMs, system integrators, or test equipment vendors to deploy and sustain production test solutions. - Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience reviewing test data, yield, failure trends, and manufacturing metrics. - Ability to work cross-functionally with hardware engineering, diagnostics/software, manufacturing, quality, and supplier teams. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience with server and AI accelerators plus networking, power, or data center hardware systems. - Experience reviewing or developing manufacturing test automation, Python/Bash or similar scripts, Linux-based diagnostics, data pipelines, CI/release controls, and test software frameworks used in factory environments. - Experience supporting high-volume production ramps and factory bring-up in Asia or other global manufacturing environments. - Knowledge of DFT principles and how design decisions influence testability, debug, and production yield. - Experience with failure analysis, root-cause investigations, and corrective action processes in a manufacturing environment. To comply with U.S. export control laws and regulations, candidates for this role may need to meet certain legal status requirements as provided in those laws and regulations. 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 https://cdn.openai.com/policies/eeo-policy-statement.pdf. Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. 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. To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form https://form.asana.com/?d=57018692298241&k=5MqR40fZd7jlxVUh5J-UeA. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link https://form.asana.com/?k=bQ7w9h3iexRlicUdWRiwvg&d=57018692298241. OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy https://cdn.openai.com/policies/global-employee-and-contractor-privacy-policy.pdf At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.