About xAI

xAI’s mission is to create AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. Our team is small, highly motivated, and focused on engineering excellence. This organization is for individuals who appreciate challenging themselves and thrive on curiosity. We operate with a flat organizational structure. All employees are expected to be hands-on and to contribute directly to the company’s mission. Leadership is given to those who show initiative and consistently deliver excellence. Work ethic and strong prioritization skills are important. All engineers are expected to have strong communication skills. They should be able to concisely and accurately share knowledge with their teammates.

Tech Stack

• Python / Rust / C++

• Spark

• Ray

Location

The role is based in the Bay Area San Francisco and Palo Alto. Candidates are expected to be located near the Bay Area or open to relocation.

Focus

• Design and implement petabyte-scale, high-throughput data processing systems that involve both CPU- and GPU-based processing.

• Design and implement tools for orchestrating complex data pipelines.

• Design and implement innovative tools for improving data discoverability and data quality at scale for both pre-training and post-training across different modalities.

• Build, run, and manage innovative data pipelines for creating high-quality training data..

Ideal Experiences (at least one from below)

• Strong systems skills in configuring and troubleshooting complex distributed data processing systems for maximum performance.

• Building bespoke data processing systems from scratch.

• Preparing pre-training and post-training data for state-of-the-art large language models and generative models.

• Organizing and meticulously bookkeeping data across multiple clouds, of multiple modalities, and from many sources.

Interview Process

After submitting your application, the team reviews your CV and statement of exceptional work. If your application passes this stage, you will be invited to a 15-minute interview (“phone interview”) during which a member of our team will ask some basic questions. If you clear the initial phone interview, you will enter the main process, which consists of four technical interviews:

• Coding assessment in a language of your choice.

• Systems hands-on: Demonstrate practical skills in a live problem-solving session.

• Project deep-dive: Present your past exceptional work to a small audience.

• Meet and greet with the wider team.

Our goal is to finish the main process within one week. All interviews will be conducted via Google Meet.

Annual Salary Range

$180,000 - $440,000 USD

Benefits

Base salary is just one part of our total rewards package at xAI, which also includes equity, comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and various other discounts and perks.

*xAI is an equal opportunity employer. For details on data processing, view our *Recruitment Privacy Notice.