Member of Technical Staff - Mid-training

xAI; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 440,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Comprehensive medical coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Short & long-term disability insurance

Life insurance

Job summary

A cutting-edge AI technology company in Palo Alto seeks expert engineers for its mid-training team. The role focuses on creating multimodal AI models and requires proficiency in Python, JAX, and Spark. Ideal candidates possess strong machine learning expertise and experience in large-scale data processing. The position includes a competitive salary range of $180,000 - $440,000, along with comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Expertise in ML and large model scaling, with familiarity across scaling laws.
• Strong ability to design ML experiments.
• Familiarity with techniques for curating AI training data for multiple modalities.
• Strong engineering abilities in frameworks for large-scale data processing.

Responsibilities

• Design synthetic data algorithms for model intelligence.
• Distill flagship model intelligence into flash models.
• Optimize mid-training data mixtures for reinforcement learning.
• Develop evaluations for mid-training checkpoints.

Skills

Python

JAX and XLA

Spark

Ray

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 are expected to have strong communication skills. They should be able to concisely and accurately share knowledge with their teammates.

About the Role

The mid‑training team at xAI aims to provide an omni model that can understand the universe through text, image, video and audio. To accomplish this, we are looking for expert engineers in multimodal mid‑training data.

• Python
• JAX and XLA
• Spark
• Ray

Location

The role is based in the Bay Area (San Francisco and Palo Alto). Candidates are expected to be located near the Bay Area or open to relocation.

Focus

• Design synthetic data algorithms that push the frontiers of model intelligence.
• Distill the intelligence of flagship models into flash models through synthetic data generation.
• Optimize mid‑training data mixtures to boost the ceiling for RL.
• Develop robust and diverse evaluation for mid‑training checkpoints.

Ideal Experience

• Expertise in ML and large model scaling, with familiarity across all kinds of scaling laws.
• Strong ability to design ML experiments.
• Familiarity with state‑of‑the‑art techniques for curating AI training data for text, image, audio, and video modalities.
• Strong engineering abilities in Spark, Ray, and other frameworks for large‑scale data processing.

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:

Coding assessment in a language of your choice.
Technical sessions (2): These sessions will be testing your ability to formulate, design and solve concrete problems in real world with LLM.
Meet the Team: Present your past exceptional work and your vision with xAI to a small audience.
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

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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