Backend Engineer, xAI
Grok Chat
$180-440k
+ Equity
Office located in San Francisco, CA & Palo Alto, CA
Building artificial intelligence
Open for applications
Building artificial intelligence
1001+ employees
Open for applications
$180-440k
+ Equity
Office located in San Francisco, CA & Palo Alto, CA
1001+ employees
Company mission
To build AI systems that can help humanity understand the world better.
Role
Who you are
- This organization is for individuals who appreciate challenging themselves and thrive on curiosity
- 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
- If you're passionate about solving intricate problems and building products that delight millions, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact
- A proactive self-starter who excels at transforming bold ideas into high-impact realities through focused execution
- An expert coder proficient in Python or Rust, with a talent for crafting clean, maintainable, and scalable code
- Experienced in developing experimentation frameworks for consumer products operating at massive scale
- Skilled in designing and maintaining robust, large-scale data infrastructure systems that support cutting-edge AI technologies
- Proven track record of shipping consumer-facing products to millions of users, with a focus on performance and reliability
- Deeply passionate about AI and dedicated to creating indispensable products that users love and rely on
What the job involves
- Our team is small, highly motivated, and focused on engineering excellence
- 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
- Join the innovative team at xAI, where we're revolutionizing the user experience for Grok—the witty, insightful AI companion that's becoming an essential part of users' lives worldwide. As a Backend Engineer on the Grok Chat team, you'll design and implement scalable systems that harness the world's most advanced language models to tackle complex challenges at unprecedented scale
- You'll drive AI innovation by creating seamless, high-performance backend infrastructure that powers captivating user interactions
- Innovate on frameworks for large-scale experimentation, enabling rapid iteration to keep Grok at the forefront of AI advancements
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams of top engineers and researchers to deliver AI-driven features that engage and empower users
- Architect and develop high-performance, personalized chat systems powered by Grok, ensuring reliability and scalability for global users
- Build and optimize large-scale data pipelines to fuel Grok's continuous improvement using real-time signals and massive datasets
- Own end-to-end projects, from ideation and design to deployment and monitoring, delivering production-ready solutions with efficiency and excellence
Application 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
Our take
xAI is Elon Musk's venture into the world of artificial intelligence, and like all things Musk, it's going big. Its setting out to build AI that helps humanity understand the universe and its starting with Grok, its conversational AI chatbot already integrated into X (formerly Twitter). With access to real-time data and a powerful ecosystem of Musk-led companies, xAI is certainly pushing towards artificial general intelligence at serious scale.
Like all bold ventures, xAI has faced its share of controversy, from questions about regulation to the overlap across Musk's businesses. But fans are still seeing the bigger picture: an interconnected tech ecosystem where AI, social media, and space exploration feed into one another.
Recently, the company made headlines with its massive "Colossus" supercomputer project, powered by tens of thousands of Nvidia GPUs. While the data center's temporary power setup has faced environmental scrutiny, the scale of ambition is certainly undeniable. From launching tap-to-pay features on X to building one of the most powerful AI training systems on Earth, xAI is moving fast.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)
Jul 2025
$5bn
GROWTH EQUITY VC
Dec 2024
$6bn
SERIES C
Total funding: $17.1bn
Company benefits
- Health and wellness: Comprehensive health insurance including medical, dental, vision, and disability coverage
- Life and family: Life and AD&D insurance and fertility benefits to ensure our team’s well-being and peace of mind
- Flexible vacation: We work hard but avoid burn out. Take time off when you need it
- Visa sponsorship: We support international talent with visa sponsorship to join our team
- 401(k) plan: Retirement savings plan to secure your financial future
Company HQ
Downtown, Burlingame, CA
Leadership
Elon Musk
(Founder)Founder, Chairman, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX. CEO and Product Architect of Tesla. Chairman and CTO of X Corp, founder of the Boring Company, co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI, and president of the Musk Foundation.
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