Forward deployed engineer

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. Engineers are encouraged to work across multiple areas of the company, and as a result, all engineers and researchers share the title "Member of Technical Staff."

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 and researchers are expected to have strong communication skills. They should be able to concisely and accurately share knowledge with their teammates.

xAI does not have recruiters. Every application is reviewed directly by a technical member of the team.

About the team

The xAI London team is a team of software engineers with a focus on large-scale, highly-reliable distributed systems. We work on many different levels of the stack ranging from build systems, to production backend infrastructure, and frontend development. For example, we built large parts of the Grok production stack. We focus on building high-quality software and aren’t afraid to delve into technically complex topics to solve problems the right way.

About the role

We’re looking for an experienced software engineer who can thrive in a dynamic start-up environment. The main responsibilities for this role are:

1. Helping customers use our API products,
2. Adding customer-specific features when necessary,
3. Improving public documentation,
4. Improving our SDKs based on customer feedback,
5. Scaling our model deployments across inference locations to improve latency/throughput for key customers.

An ideal candidate meets at least the following requirements:

1. Great verbal and written communication skills in English,
2. Expert in at least one programming language that compiles to machine code such as Rust, C++, or Go. Rust or C++ experience is preferred,
3. Experience in Python,
4. Experience in TypeScript,
5. Understanding of the HTTP protocol.

Furthermore, candidates may stand out by having any of the following experiences:

1. Deploying machine learning models to production,
2. Writing developer documentation,
3. Creating and maintaining SDKs,
4. Using Pulumi or Terraform.

Location

The role is based in our London office close to Piccadilly Circus underground station or Palo Alto office. We usually work from the office 5 days a week but allow for work-from-home days when required. Candidates must be willing to attend late meetings at least twice a week to coordinate with the rest of our team, which is based in California. This role includes semi-regular business trips to California.

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:

1. Coding interview in Rust, C++ or Go,
2. Coding interview in Python,
3. Software design interview,
4. Meet the wider team and give a 20 minute presentation about the most difficult technical problems you have solved.

Our goal is to finish the process within one week. We don’t rely on recruiters for assessments. Every application is reviewed by a member of our technical team. All interviews will be conducted via Google Meet.

Benefits

• Competitive cash-based compensation
• xAI equity
• Private health and dental insurance
• Unlimited time off subject to prior approval