OpenAI Software Engineer Interview Experience — Devbox System Design Phone Screen, Built the Wrong Thing

OpenAI·Software Engineer·Sep 2026
Technical ScreenRejectedhard

I was asked the devbox design question and I failed to recognize it as such, since I didn't practice it much, nor was it among the hot questions on the forum. I ended up creating a generic container orchestration platform. Another interview-prep site I looked at does mark it as a MUST, so it would be useful for other candidates to peek at other question lists too.

The interview experience was overall very nice. The engineer prompted minimally and was quite supportive. The interview lasted close to an hour, with 10 minutes for questions.

The interview could have gone various ways, but I think the biggest mistake I made was not clarifying what exactly needed to be built. I know this seems like a simple thing, but for me it takes a huge amount of effort to calm down when I see an unfamiliar question, and thus you end up focusing on things you should not. Hopefully I can apply next year.

Published

Curated and edited by PracHub

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Interview at a glance

Company
OpenAI
Role
Software Engineer
Rounds
Technical Screen
Outcome
Rejected
Difficulty
hard
Interview date
Sep 2026
Questions from this interview
1 question

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