Machine Learning Engineer, Safety

xAI; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Comprehensive medical coverage

Vision coverage

Dental coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Various discounts and perks

Job summary

A cutting-edge AI company is seeking a passionate Machine Learning Engineer to join their Applied Safety team in Palo Alto, California. You will drive innovative ML solutions to enhance user safety and compliance with X’s Terms of Service. Candidates should have 5+ years of experience in machine learning engineering and be comfortable in fast-paced, dynamic environments. The role involves ownership of the ML lifecycle, developing models for abuse and fraud detection, and collaborating across teams.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in machine learning engineering or related roles.
• Proven experience managing the full ML lifecycle.
• F familiarity with modern data pipelines and ML infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle for safety systems.
• Develop ML models to detect and remediate violative content.
• Collaborate across teams to enhance the safety ecosystem.

Skills

Machine learning engineering

Creative problem solving

Strong communication skills

Tools

Python

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Job description

About the Role

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.

We are seeking a passionate and innovative Machine Learning Engineer to join xAI’s Applied Safety team, where you will drive the development of cutting‑edge ML solutions to ensure compliance with X’s Terms of Service and enhance user safety. In this role, you will own the full machine learning lifecycle, building and deploying models to detect and mitigate threats like abuse, spam, and fraud, while fostering a secure and trusted global digital public square. Ideal candidates are creative problem‑solvers who thrive in 0‑to‑1 environments, prioritize impactful code over documentation, and are excited to apply advanced ML techniques to high‑stakes safety challenges.

Responsibilities

• Own the end‑to‑end machine learning lifecycle for safety systems, including data gathering, cleaning, model training, evaluation, and serving at scale
• Develop ML models to detect and remediate violative content in areas like abuse, spam, and child safety
• Integrate models into production systems for real‑time inference and high‑throughput processing
• Apply creative problem‑solving to build novel ML solutions in uncharted spaces
• Collaborate across engineering, product, and operations to enhance the safety ecosystem
• Lead technical initiatives in ML‑driven areas like fraud detection or content moderation

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years in machine learning engineering or related roles
• Proven experience managing the full ML lifecycle, from data preparation to model serving
• Familiarity with modern data pipelines and ML infrastructure ecosystems
• Enjoyment of 0‑to‑1 environments, where you trailblaze novel ML solutions

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in Trust and Safety or applying ML to content moderation
• Experience applying LLMs to real‑world problems, such as natural language understanding or anomaly detection
• Fluency in Python, with knowledge of ML libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch)
• Background in scalable systems for handling large datasets

Salary

Annual Salary Range: $200,000 – $350,000 USD

Benefits

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.

EEO Statement

xAI is an equal opportunity employer.

California Consumer Privacy Act Notice

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Notice

Seniority Level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment Type

Full‑time

Job Function

Engineering and Information Technology

Industries

Technology, Information and Internet