OpenAI Hires PhD Researcher After 57 Interviews Across 11 Companies

Alisa Liu was hired as a researcher by OpenAI after finishing a six-year PhD program in natural language processing at the University of Washington, Insider reported. She had applied for research scientist and technical staff roles in the AI industry. Liu participated in 57 interviews across 11 companies, 46 recruiter calls, and 16 post-offer discussions during the search, Insider reported.

She also held countless informal networking conversations beforehand. Liu stated she was stressed, miserable, and not functioning in other parts of her life for several months. She described the overall process as really challenging but also super rewarding.

Machine learning coding questions were by far the most common interview type, Liu said. Some sessions featured rapid-fire questions on topics such as 5D parallelism and positional encoding, while others covered research discussions, behavioral questions, and math assessments ranging from logic puzzles to derivations. Liu recommended brushing up on probability, linear algebra, and calculus.

She noted that companies spend far more time evaluating technical skills and knowledge than research experience. Negotiating job offers proved difficult, Liu wrote, adding that putting energy into negotiation for a few weeks can equal years of work at the initial offer. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the hiring.