Backend Engineer - Product Safety

xAI; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

xAI is seeking a proactive Backend Engineer to join their Product Safety team. In this role, you will build robust systems to ensure AI products are safe and reliable. Ideal candidates will have experience with Python, Rust, and high-performance production systems, along with a passion for AI safety. Join us to shape the future of AI innovation and help deliver delightful experiences at scale.

Benefits

Equity

Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage

Access to a 401(k) retirement plan

Short & long-term disability insurance

Life insurance

Various discounts and perks

Qualifications

• Experienced in designing high-performance, high-load systems for production.
• Background in product safety or moderation platforms is a strong plus.
• Proactive problem-solver who can turn ideas into reality.

Responsibilities

• Build distributed systems to enforce safety and integrity at scale.
• Create frameworks for monitoring and moderation to stay ahead of risks.
• Drive projects from concept to production with speed and precision.

Skills

Python

Rust

Scala

RESTful APIs

gRPC

SQL

NoSQL

DevOps

CI/CD

Job description

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.
• Build safety features in collaboration with other AI experts.
• 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.
• Python (required)
• Rust (strongly preferred)
• Scala (familiarity preferred)
• RESTful APIs, gRPC
• 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 phone screening with a member of the team. If you clear that interview, you will enter the main process, which consists of four steps:

• Coding in Python Round 1.
• Coding in Python Round 2.
• Coding in Python & System Design.
• Meet & Greet with the wider team.

Our goal is to finish the main process within one week. There will be at least one in-person interview.

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.

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