Senior Backend Engineer - Starfleet

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 Team

The Starfleet team is responsible for creating the tools and systems necessary to drive frontier model performance. We collaborate closely with our research teams and AI tutor teams to develop new solutions that accelerate research progress across model capabilities, evaluation, safety, and alignment.

About the Role

In this role you might:

• Design and build robust, scalable backend systems to power our AI-driven tools and platforms.


• Develop APIs and distributed systems that handle high-throughput data processing for model training and evaluation.


• Create secure, reliable pipelines to support innovative human data generation and agentic workflows.


• Optimize infrastructure to leverage cutting-edge GPU resources for maximum performance.


• Innovate new approaches that bring us closer to our goal: to develop AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge.

Exceptional candidates may have:

• Experience building high-performance backend systems in dynamic, fast-paced environments - as a tech lead, former founder, etc.


• Expertise in designing scalable distributed systems and APIs with a compiled language like Rust or C++.


• Experience optimizing data pipelines for machine learning workloads or real-time applications.


• Familiarity with frontend technologies (e.g., TypeScript, React) to collaborate seamlessly with cross-functional teams.

Tech Stack

• Typescript, Python, Rust


• React, Express, PostgreSQL

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. Front end technical interview, in React/Typescript


3. Systems hands-on: Demonstrate practical skills in a live problem-solving session.


4. Meet the Team: Present your past exceptional work and your vision with xAI to a small audience.

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

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.