Forward Deployed Engineer - Tokyo

About this role

About the team

OpenAI’s Forward Deployed Engineering team partners with customers to turn research breakthroughs into production systems. We operate at the intersection of customer delivery and core platform development.

About the role

Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) lead complex end-to-end deployments of frontier models in production alongside our most strategic customers. You will own discovery, technical scoping, system design, build, and production rollout, partnering directly with customer engineering and domain teams.

You will measure success through production adoption, measurable workflow impact, and eval-driven feedback that changes product and model roadmaps. You’ll work closely with our Product, Research, Partnerships, GRC, Security, and GTM teams.

This role is based in Tokyo. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. Travel is expected in this role, mainly within Japan.

To succeed in this position you must be bilingual—fluent in both Japanese and English (spoken and written). Please note that your resume must be submitted in English, and the interview process will include conversations in both languages.

In this role you will

• Own technical delivery across multiple deployments from first prototype to stable production

• Build full-stack systems that deliver customer value and sharpen how we learn

• Embed closely with customer teams, understand their needs, and guide adoption of what you build

• Scope work, sequence delivery, and remove blockers early

• Make trade-offs between scope, speed, and quality; adjust plans to protect delivery

• Contribute directly in the code when progress or clarity depends on it

• Codify working patterns into tools, playbooks, or building blocks that others can use