Member of Technical Staff, Search/Retrieval Expert

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

About the Role

The foundation team at xAI is dedicated to building the infrastructure and systems that empower maximum truth-seeking AI agents. To achieve this, we are developing AI-first search/retrieval systems that enable LLM agents to efficiently access, process, and leverage vast knowledge bases — ultimately fostering agents that prioritize accuracy, rigorous reasoning, and an unbiased pursuit of knowledge. We are seeking expert engineers to architect and scale retrieval/search systems for data in all modalities (text, images, video, and audio) to elevate agent reasoning and decision-making.

Tech Stack

• Python
• Rust / C++
• Vector databases
• Spark

Focus

• Developing and optimizing search pipelines for LLM agents at scale, with a core goal of supporting maximum truth-seeking capabilities.
• Designing efficient search algorithms and indexing strategies for trillion-scale datasets across modalities.
• Integrating search systems with xAI's core models to improve accuracy, speed, and relevance in real-time agent interactions, ensuring agents can discern and prioritize truthful information.
• Experimenting with advanced techniques like dense retrieval, hybrid search to minimize biases and hallucinations.
• Ensuring robustness and scalability of search infrastructure under high-load conditions while aligning with truth-seeking objectives.

Ideal Experiences (at least one from below)

• Strong engineering background with a passion for building high-performance search systems that contribute to truthful AI.
• Expertise in information retrieval, vector embeddings, and semantic search technologies.
• Familiar with distributed systems, large-scale indexing, and optimizing query latency in ML contexts.
• Experience working with LLMs, agents, or knowledge-intensive tasks, including fine-tuning for retrieval tasks aimed at enhancing truthfulness.
• Proficient in managing and curating large datasets from diverse sources, with a focus on quality, verifiability, and efficiency to support maximum truth-seeking agents.
• Preference for candidates with extensive experience in building and scaling search engines, including hands-on involvement in production systems and experimental iterations.

Location

The role is based in the Bay Area [San Francisco and Palo Alto]. Candidates are expected to be located near the Bay Area or open to relocation.

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 assessment in a language of your choice.
2. Systems hands-on: Demonstrate practical skills in a live problem-solving session.
3. Project deep-dive: Present your past exceptional work to a small audience.
4. Meet and greet with the wider team.

Our goal is to finish the main process within one week. All interviews will be conducted via Google Meet.

Annual Salary Range

$180,000 - $440,000 USD

Benefits

Base salary is just one part of our total rewards package at xAI, which also includes equity, comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and various other discounts and perks.

xAI is an equal opportunity employer.

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