I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at OpenAI (San Francisco, CA) in Apr 2026
Interview
First round with HR: HR was a little impatient, probably very busy.
1 coding round, multi-part coding problem under 1 hour with tests passing. Plan your time wisely. Don't spend time on stuff like pseudo coding in earlier parts. Interviewer wasn't very engaged.
1 system design round. Interview was smart and nice.
Reject on the following day.
Other Software Engineer interview reviews for OpenAI
2 rounds phone screen(1 coding + 1 system design) and 4 rounds onsite interviews(1 coding + 1 design + 1 deep dive + 1 behavior).
general good experience but need fast coding
The technical round kicked off with a question about finding the length of the longest substring without repeating characters. I felt prepared, and as we discussed my approach and time complexity, I could sense I was on the right track. Later, there was a behavioral round where I described my experiences and team dynamics. The wild moment came when I realized I had literally seen this exact problem on prachub.com during my prep a week earlier. Afterward, I received an offer, which I happily accepted. Overall, a rewarding experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Given a string s, find the length of the longest substring without repeating characters. Discuss your approach and time complexity.