Datacenter Infrastructure Engineer Lead

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

About The Role

We are looking for a talented Datacenter Infrastructure Engineer Lead to join our team in Memphis, TN, to ensure our datacenter infrastructure is robust, scalable, and efficient to support our cutting-edge AI workloads.

As a Datacenter Infrastructure Engineer Lead at xAI, you will play a critical role in designing, building, and maintaining the infrastructure that powers our AI research and deployment. You will lead a team responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle of datacenter systems, from hardware deployment to ongoing maintenance, ensuring high availability and performance for our AI compute clusters. Based in our Memphis, TN datacenter, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams to support xAI’s mission of advancing human discovery through AI.

Responsibilities

• Lead Infrastructure Design and Deployment: Oversee the design, installation, and commissioning of datacenter infrastructure, including power, cooling, networking, and compute systems tailored for high-performance AI workloads.
• Team Leadership: Manage and mentor a team of datacenter engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and innovation.
• System Optimization: Optimize datacenter systems for energy efficiency, scalability, and reliability to support xAI’s compute-intensive AI models.
• Maintenance and Operations: Develop and implement maintenance strategies, including preventive maintenance schedules, to ensure continuous operation of critical infrastructure.
• Collaboration: Work closely with AI researchers, software engineers, and hardware teams to align infrastructure capabilities with xAI’s computational needs.
• Vendor Management: Coordinate with vendors and contractors to procure equipment, manage installations, and ensure compliance with xAI’s technical and safety standards.
• Troubleshooting: Lead rapid response to infrastructure incidents, performing root cause analysis and implementing solutions to prevent recurrence.
• Capacity Planning: Forecast and plan for future datacenter capacity needs to support xAI’s growing AI initiatives.

Qualifications

• Experience: 7+ years of experience in datacenter engineering, with at least 2 years in a leadership or lead role managing technical teams.
• Technical Expertise: Deep knowledge of datacenter systems, including power distribution, cooling systems (e.g., HVAC, liquid cooling), networking, and high-performance computing hardware.
• AI Workload Knowledge: Familiarity with the infrastructure demands of AI and machine learning workloads, including GPU/TPU clusters and high-bandwidth networking.
• Leadership Skills: Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow a team of engineers while managing complex projects with tight deadlines.
• Problem-Solving: Strong analytical skills with a track record of resolving complex infrastructure challenges in high-stakes environments.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical teams.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field; advanced degree preferred but not required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with large-scale datacenter deployments for AI or HPC (High-Performance Computing) environments.
• Knowledge of datacenter automation tools and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) frameworks.
• Familiarity with environmental and safety regulations for datacenter operations.
• Experience working in fast-paced, mission-driven organizations.

xAI is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate based on race, color, religion, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, medical conditions, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other applicable legally protected characteristics. 

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act. 

For Los Angeles County (unincorporated) Candidates:

xAI reasonably believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: 

• Access to information technology systems and confidential information, including proprietary and trade secret information, and/or user data;
• Interacting with internal and/or external clients and colleagues; and
• Exercising sound judgment.

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