OpenAI Forward Deployed Engineer Interview Experience
ResultRejected
Timespan4 weeks
DifficultyMedium
Rounds2
Interview process
A recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn for the forward deployed engineering role. Pretty easy recruiter screen with typical questions. The next stage was a phone screen, where I was asked to describe a project I drove e2e and several customer-oriented questions. Was rejected for not showing enough backend experience in the interview.
Interview rounds · 2
- 1
Recruiter screen
- Q1. Have you used the OpenAI API before?
- 2
Phone screen
- Q1. Tell me about the most complex project you have led.
Tips from the candidate
They are looking for agentic architecture and have since leaned away from using deterministic methods in the architecture. My interviewer said they now try to "step out of the way and let the model do it's thing", so prepare a project accordingly.
Company culture
The recruiter and the interviewer were both very nice! Seems like a good place to work!
Details
CompanyOpenAI
RoleForward Deployed Engineer
LocationUnited Kingdom
InterviewedJul 2026
Questions asked2