Software Engineer, Safety
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
We are seeking a skilled and autonomous Software Engineer to join xAI’s Applied Safety team, where you will build and maintain advanced systems to ensure compliance with X’s Terms of Service and safeguard users from threats like abuse, spam, and fraud. In this role, you will architect scalable, distributed systems to process high-scale event data, drive innovative safety solutions, and collaborate cross-functionally to promote a secure and trusted global digital public square. Ideal candidates are generalists who thrive in fast-paced, 0-to-1 environments, prioritize shipping impactful code, and are passionate about delivering real-world results through engineering excellence.
Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain backend and data systems to support high-scale event processing for abuse detection, spam remediation, child safety, and related safety tooling.
- Architect scalable distributed systems capable of processing thousands of events per second to mitigate platform threats.
- Collaborate with engineering, product, and operations teams to address complex safety challenges and drive impactful solutions.
- Write clean, efficient code primarily in Scala and Go, utilizing Map-Reduce frameworks like Scalding and scripting in Python.
- Exercise autonomy in designing new systems and iterating on existing ones to achieve step-wise improvements in safety and performance.
- Potentially lead technical initiatives in critical areas such as payments risk or abuse mitigation.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in software engineering roles, with a focus on backend or data systems.
- Proven experience building and operating scalable software services in high-impact environments.
- Strong generalist skills, with familiarity in designing and working with distributed systems.
- A passion for 0-to-1 environments, with a track record of trailblazing novel engineering solutions.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Scala, Go, Scalding, or Python in building scalable, high-performance systems.
- Familiarity with safety or security challenges in large-scale platforms, such as abuse detection or fraud prevention.
- Proven ability to lead technical initiatives or drive cross-functional collaboration in dynamic settings.
- A proactive mindset, with a focus on shipping impactful features over minor tweaks.
- A passion for xAI’s mission to foster a secure and open digital public square.
- A sense of adaptability and a touch of humor to thrive in a fast-paced, startup-like environment.
Annual Salary Range
$200,000 - $350,000 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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