Backend Engineer - Product Safety

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.


• Collaborate with top engineers and AI experts on seamless, user-focused safety features.


• 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 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

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.

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Notice