OpenAI’s robotics hardware lead resigns following deal with the Department of Defense

The head of OpenAI’s robotics hardware is out. Caitlin Kalinowski, who oversaw hardware within OpenAI’s robotics division, posted on X that she was resigning from her position, while criticizing the company’s rush to partner with the Department of Defense without investigating proper safeguards. OpenAI told Engadget that there are no plans to replace Kalinowski.

Kalinowski, who previously worked at Meta before joining OpenAI in late 2024, wrote on Responding to another message, the former OpenAI executive explained that “the announcement was rushed without the safeguards being defined”, adding that it was above all a “governance problem”.

OpenAI confirmed Kalinowski’s resignation and said in a statement to Engadget that the company understands that people have “strong opinions” on these issues and will continue to engage in discussions with affected parties. The company also explained in the statement that it does not support the issues raised by Kalinowski.

“We believe our agreement with the Pentagon paves the way for responsible use of AI in national security, while clarifying our red lines: no domestic surveillance and no autonomous weapons,” reads the OpenAI press release.

Kalinowski’s resignation may be the highest-profile consequence of OpenAI’s decision to sign a deal with the Department of Defense. The decision came just after Anthropic refused to lift some AI guardrails around mass surveillance and develop fully autonomous weapons. However, even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he would amend the agreement with the Department of Defense to ban spying on Americans.

Correction, March 8, 2026, 10:30 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to correct Kalinowski’s role at OpenAI to “robotics hardware manager” instead of “robotics manager.”