Forward Deployed AI Engineer

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. Engineers are encouraged to work across multiple areas of the company, and as a result, all engineers and researchers share the title "Member of Technical Staff."

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.

xAI does not have recruiters. Every application is reviewed directly by a technical member of the team.

About the Role

Forward Deployed AI Engineers work directly with our end customers owning strategy and implementation.  Your responsibilities look similar to that of a hands-on AI startup CTO: you’ll work in a small team to own delivery of high stakes projects with clients.  A day’s work may include building LLM workflows on a large scale and interacting with customers to understand their needs but mostly driven by implementing solutions into the real world of our partner's organizations. 

Focus

• Emphasis on designing, implementing, and maintaining robust and scalable AI-driven solutions.
• Proficiency in working with large, complex codebases and designing efficient data processing and model serving architectures
• Proven track record of shipping high-quality code and successfully completing projects in challenging environments.
• Strong passion for solving real-world business problems and delivering measurable impact through AI solutions.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt to changing requirements and priorities in a fast-paced startup environment.

Ideal experiences 

• Successfully designing and implementing cutting-edge AI solutions using large language models (LLMs) and other advanced AI techniques in a production environment.
• Demonstrating a deep understanding of machine learning fundamentals, including model evaluation, training, and problem decomposition.
• Possessing a strong engineering background in computer science, mathematics, software engineering, physics, or a related field, with a proven track record of applying this knowledge to solve complex problems.
• Mastering one or more programming languages such as Python, Java, C++, or TypeScript/JavaScript, with a focus on writing clean, efficient, and maintainable code.
• Showcasing the ability to work with massive datasets, optimize performance, and scale systems to handle high-throughput workloads.
• Building large scale neural recommendation systems.

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. We don’t rely on recruiters for assessments. Every application is reviewed by a member of our technical team. All interviews will be conducted via Google Meet.

Annual Salary Range

$180,000 - $440,000 USD