Software Engineer, xAI
Infrastructure, X
$180-440k
More information about location
Office located in Palo Alto, CA
Building artificial intelligence
Open for applications
Building artificial intelligence
1001+ employees
Open for applications
$180-440k
More information about location
Office located in 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
- All engineers and researchers are expected to have strong communication skills
- They should be able to concisely and accurately share knowledge with their teammates
- We’re looking for exceptional infrastructure engineers to redefine what is possible in large-scale AI infrastructure and build the supercomputing platform that powers xAI’s ambitious goals
- 2+ years of industry experience working with large-scale, high-throughput distributed systems, compute platforms, or data infrastructure
- Proficient in Golang, Rust, Python, or similar languages
- (Optional) Familiarity with modern developer tools (Bazel, Buildkite, Argo, Kubernetes), service meshes (Envoy), or observability frameworks
- (Optional) Experience with large-scale storage systems (KV stores, RDBMS, object stores) or Kubernetes ecosystem development (controllers, plugins)
- Passionate about reliability, performance optimization, and building systems that scale seamlessly
What the job involves
- 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
- The initial 200,000 GPU phase of the Colossus supercluster in Memphis was only the beginning of xAI’s infrastructure roadmap, and we need world-class infra engineers to build the future of large-scale AI
- As a Software Engineer on the Infrastructure team, you’ll work across multiple workstreams to design, build, and maintain cutting-edge distributed systems that enable our developers to scale our compute and data platforms and ensure efficiency, reliability, and performance at an unprecedented scale
- This role offers the opportunity to shape the backbone of xAI’s technology
- Enhance developer experience by modernizing build systems, reducing build times, and implementing tools like Bazel in a monorepo environment. Design and improve CI/CD pipelines using Buildkite, Argo, and Kubernetes, create developer portals, and assist application teams in migrating to Kubernetes while defining the next-generation tech stack
- Scale compute infrastructure on Kubernetes by building controllers, admission plugins, and supporting systems that empower teams to leverage Kubernetes effectively
- Design and maintain one of the largest traffic shaping and load balancing deployments using Envoy, while building service meshes and service discovery systems to handle massive scale
- Scale data platforms and observability systems (logging, tracing, metrics) to support exabyte-scale data processing and provide deep insights into system performance
- Drive reliability, standardization, and performance by building and refining systems with a pedantic focus on quality and scalability
- Manage and optimize large-scale storage systems, including key-value stores, relational databases, and network file systems or object stores (open-source, cloud-managed, and in-house solutions)
- Contribute to miscellaneous quality-of-life improvements that empower developers and streamline workflows
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 15-30 minutes phone interview, during which a member of our team will ask technical questions
- Deep dive coding challenge
- Meet and greet with the wider team
- Our goal is to complete the process within one week. All interviews will be conducted in person when applicable
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 3 rounds)
Dec 2024
$6bn
SERIES C
May 2024
$6bn
SERIES B
Total funding: $12.1bn
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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