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Backend Engineer - Product Safety

San Francisco & Palo Alto, CA

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

Join a pioneering team at xAI to ensure our AI products are safe, reliable, and exceptional for users worldwide. We’re shaping the future of AI innovation, delivering trustworthy and delightful experiences at scale. As a Backend Engineer on the Product Safety team, you’ll build robust, high-performance systems to safeguard our AI, tackling complex challenges to impact millions. This is your chance to redefine AI safety.

What You’ll Do

  • Build distributed systems to enforce safety and integrity at scale.
  • Create frameworks for monitoring and moderation to stay ahead of risks.
  • Build safety features in collaboration with other AI experts.
  • Drive projects from concept to production with speed and precision.

Who You Are

  • A proactive problem-solver who turns ideas into reality.
  • Experienced in designing high-performance, high-load systems for production.
  • Passionate about AI safety and building trusted, impactful products.
  • (Strong plus) Background in product safety or moderation platforms.
  • (Strong plus) Familiar with DevOps and CI/CD pipelines.

Tech Stack

  • Python (required)
  • Rust (strongly preferred)
  • Scala (familiarity preferred)
  • RESTful APIs, gRPC
  • Microservices, Docker, Kubernetes
  • SQL/NoSQL databases
  • Major cloud service providers (CSPs) or on-prem deployments

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 phone screening with a member of the team. If you clear that interview, you will enter the main process, which consists of four steps:

  1. Coding in Python Round 1.
  2. Coding in Python Round 2.
  3. Coding in Python & System Design.
  4. Meet & Greet with the wider team.

Our goal is to finish the main process within one week. There will be at least one in-person interview.

Annual Salary Range

$180,000 - $440,000 USD

xAI is an equal opportunity employer.

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