Software Engineer - Internal Tools

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

We are looking for exceptional engineers and builders with great taste, strong product sense, excellent prioritization, and outstanding communication skills. You will own and elevate our mission-critical research platform that directly accelerates xAI’s frontier work.

Our team is contributing to Toolbox — our unified Research Platform for model training orchestration, evaluations, benchmarking, and experiment management.

You will design, build, and ship delightful, performant, and scalable systems that researchers and engineers love to use every day. This role values product ownership, taste and narrow specialization.

We are open to all levels from new grads to senior engineers.

• Excellent prioritization skills — you know how to ruthlessly focus on high-impact work in a fast-moving environment
• Outstanding communication skills — you can clearly articulate trade-offs, technical decisions, and product thinking to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong product intuition and ownership mindset
• Strong taste & sensitivity — you have a sharp sense for quality. You can naturally feel and detect what feels good versus what feels off or uncomfortable across everything you build (frontend interfaces, backend APIs, data flows, system architecture, etc.).
• Proven technical excellence in at least one area (UX/frontend, backend, data, agentic systems, etc.)

• Previously founded a startup or joined a fast-growing early-stage startup
• Familiarity with AI/ML workflows, annotation tools, or research platforms
• Experience creating and maintaining component libraries, design systems, or internal tools
• Background in UX design, product management, or related fields

1. Coding 1 — Practical coding exercise (React component for frontend-focused; general practical exercise for others)
2. Coding 2 — System design (dive deep into frontend architecture, backend architecture, or relevant domain based on the candidate)
3. Coding 3 — Taste & Product (assess product taste, ability to gather user needs, craft roadmaps, and prioritize)
4. Meet the team + Present an exceptional work/project to the team