Software Engineer, xAI
Sandbox Service
+ Equity
Building artificial intelligence
Job no longer available
Building artificial intelligence
1001+ employees
Job no longer available
+ Equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
To build AI systems that can help humanity understand the world better.
Role
Who you are
- Ideal candidates have strong backgrounds in at least the following:
- Expert knowledge of Rust, C++ or Go
- Familiarity with Python
- Deep experience with either Linux or Windows systems (familiarity with both is a strong plus)
- Experience with virtualization and containerization technologies (e.g., cgroups, KVM, gVisor, QEMU)
- Solid knowledge of the networking stack
What the job involves
- The Sandbox service team at xAI builds and maintains a secure, scalable system that gives our models safe, controlled access to computational environments
- This infrastructure powers critical workloads across training and product, enabling models to run code, build software, interact with tools, and even control applications with user interfaces
- We provision containers and virtual machines on large-scale clusters, granting models interactive control over these remote environments
- Our work spans the full stack: from orchestrating massive jobs and resource scheduling at the cluster level, to fine-tuning filesystem performance on nodes
- The Sandbox service enables Grok to safely run and test code in real-time for user queries, and supports reinforcement learning in training, where models interactively explore tools ranging from compilers to productivity apps
- Expect deeply technical work in a fast-moving environment
- We prioritize speed and rapid iteration without compromising on reliability or performance
Application process
- After submitting your application, the team reviews your statement of exceptional work and CV
- 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 technical questions
- If you clear the initial phone interview, you will enter the main process, which consists of at least two technical interviews:
- Coding interview in Rust or C++
- Distributed systems design interview
Salary benchmarks
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 5 rounds)
Jan 2026
$20bn
SERIES E
Jul 2025
$5bn
GROWTH EQUITY VC
Total funding: $37.1bn
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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