Camera Software Engineer, Consumer Devices

About this role

OpenAI is seeking a Camera Software Engineer to own low-level camera firmware and driver development for custom consumer hardware devices. You'll work across the full lifecycle from prototype bring-up through production, building reliable capture pipelines and debugging tools that enable AI-powered devices.

What you'll do

• Bring up new camera sensors and modules on prototype and production boards, including link stability, power sequencing, and sensor control
• Develop and maintain low-level camera drivers, board configuration, and subsystem integration across hardware revisions
• Enable and validate core capture paths including RAW, still, and hardware-accelerated video with stable timestamps
• Implement camera control features such as 3A exposure loops, manual overrides, and deterministic presets for validation
• Build camera bring-up tooling including capture scripts, automated test sweeps, and debugging utilities
• Partner with electrical engineering and systems teams to define interfaces and keep the camera stack stable

What they're looking for

• Embedded camera systems and sensor bring-up experience
• C/C++ programming for embedded and Linux systems
• Camera hardware interfaces (MIPI CSI, sensor control buses)
• Kernel and userspace debugging across system boundaries
• Power, reset, clock sequencing, and board-level troubleshooting
• Experience with mobile or embedded SoC camera stacks
• Hardware acceleration integration (video encode/decode)
• Higher-level capture pipeline tools (e.g., GStreamer)

Benefits

• Hybrid work model with 4 days per week in San Francisco office
• Relocation assistance available for new employees
• Work on cutting-edge AI hardware products
• Cross-functional collaboration with electrical engineering and systems teams