OpenAI
Manager, Forward Deployed Engineer - Tokyo
Part remote, part office, you need to live within commuting distance of a named location.
Hybrid · Tokyo, Japan
Employer listed it 2 months ago · Added 4 days ago
Been open since 2 months ago. Long-running listings are sometimes left up after the role is filled.
Salary
Not stated
Location
Hybrid · Tokyo, Japan
Timezone
APAC
Contract
Full-time
Experience
Mid
Category
Software
This employer didn't state pay. Jobs like this usually pay around $165k–$255k a year, a typical range taken from 594 mid-level software roles on Nomaders that do state pay. It's a guide, not an offer.
Remote flexibility
Hybrid
This role is only partly remote, the employer expects time in the office around Tokyo, Japan, Hybrid, so you need to live within commuting distance.
What the employer says
- Source listing states candidate location: "Tokyo, Japan, Hybrid"
- Listing mentions "Hybrid"
What Nomaders makes of it
- Not suitable if you plan to move between countries
The quotes above are the employer's own words; the reading is ours. Always check the original listing and employment terms before working from another country.
About the 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 As a foundational FDE manager, you’ll lead FDE through high-stakes, ambiguous customer deployments and own technical and business value outcomes end to end. You’ll grow a team that can operate under pressure and help OpenAI learn from the field.
You’ll partner closely with Product, Research, Sales, and GTM to ensure fieldwork informs roadmap priorities, drives new exploration, and supports safe deployment at scale. Your decisions will influence how OpenAI is trusted by the customers closest to our deployment work. Your success will be measured by how consistently your team ships, how clearly you deliver signal to Research and Product, and how durable your team and delivery model prove to be.
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. This role also will require travel up to 40%, although mainly local.
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:
Lead and grow a team of FDE delivering production systems with frontier models
Own end-to-end delivery outcomes through clarity, speed, tight coordination, and technical quality
Codify what works into tools, playbooks, and roadmap inputs that create leverage for both OpenAI and our wider developer community
Notice early indicators and raise them with urgency, whether in product behavior, customer environments, or delivery practices
Use judgement to distinguish what requires action and what does not
Set a high bar for FDE performance and support each person’s growth through direct, actionable feedback
Define how we staff and support field teams that can scale without added complexity
You might thrive in this role if you:
Bring 8+ years of engineering or technical delivery experience, including 2+ years managing high-performing FDE or customer-facing engineers
Have led high-pressure technical projects from prototype to production
Write and review production-grade code across frontend and backend
Simplify complex work and make fast, sound decisions under pressure
Elevate team performance through clarity, not process
Operate with urgency in ambiguous or evolving environments
Translate field experience into sharp, actionable feedback for Product and Research
Build deep trust with your team by modeling calm, focus, and judgment when it matters most
About OpenAI
Requirements
The employer hasn't listed requirements separately, they're described in the role summary above and on the original listing.
Benefits
No benefits package published with this listing. Ask about it at first interview.
How to apply
- 1Check the flexibility label above, hybrid, matches where you plan to live and work.
- 2Tailor your CV to the role at OpenAI, mentioning your remote working experience and working hours (APAC).
- 3Apply directly on the employer's careers page using the button below. Nomaders never handles your application.
Found 5d ago. Last checked today. Always confirm the details on the original posting, salary and location can change after publication.
Listing sourced from Company boards.
Similar roles
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Free to apply, no account needed.
Typically $165k–$255k · You'll be taken to the employer's careers page.