Rust/C++ Backend Engineer - grok.com & API (London)

xAI; London; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 440,000; Full time

Job summary

A cutting-edge AI company in London seeks a skilled engineer to develop backend services. The ideal candidate should have expertise in Rust or C++ and experience with distributed systems. Strong knowledge of service observability practices and database management skills are highly desirable. The position requires attending occasional late meetings for coordination with remote teams.

Benefits

Equity options

Comprehensive medical coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Short & long-term disability insurance

Life insurance

Qualifications

• Candidates must have expert knowledge of either Rust or C++.
• Experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining distributed systems is essential.
• Knowledge of best practices in service observability is a must.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the backend services powering grok.com.
• Work closely with a small team to ensure scalable and reliable performance.

Skills

Expert knowledge of either Rust or C++

Designing and maintaining reliable distributed systems

Knowledge of service observability

Experience with PostgreSQL, Clickhouse, CockroachDB

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

TypeScript

gRPC

Job description

London, UK

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 team

You will work on the team that is responsible for the backend services that power grok.com and our API. Our team is currently based primarily in London with a small but growing number of engineers located in Palo Alto. We focus on writing highly scalable and reliable services that can efficiently process tens of thousands of queries per second. The entire backend stack is written in Rust.

About the role

An ideal candidate meets at least the following requirements:

• Expert knowledge of either Rust or C++,
• Experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining reliable and horizontally scalable distributed systems,
• Knowledge of service observability and reliability best practices,
• Experience in operating commonly used databases such as PostgreSQL, Clickhouse, and CockroachDB.

Additionally, any of the below points will help a candidate stand out:

• Expert knowledge of Python,
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and containerised applications,
• Expert knowledge of TypeScript,
• Expert knowledge of gRPC (unary, response streaming, bi-directional streaming, REST mapping).

Locations

We hire engineers in London and in Palo Alto.We usually work from the office 5 days a week but allow for work-from-home days when required. Candidates joining the London team must be willing to attend late meetings at least once a week to coordinate with the rest of our team.

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 technical questions. If you clear the initial phone interview, you will enter the main process, which consists of two technical interviews:

• Coding interview in Rust or C++.

All interviews will be conducted via Google Meet.

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.

Annual Salary Range

$180,000 - $440,000 USD

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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