AI Engineer & Researcher - Post-training (Multi-modal)

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 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

The post-training team at xAI transforms powerful pre-trained models to become steerable, versatile, and capable of understanding and addressing real-world challenges. To accomplish this, we are looking for expert researchers and engineers in multi-modal post-training.

Focus

• Creating and driving research and engineering to advance multimodal post-training, with a focus on vision and language.
• Creating high quality evaluations that capture real usage patterns of multimodal systems.
• Collecting and curating human and synthetic data to improve the capability and behavior of multimodal systems.
• Designing and implementing effective learning methods for improving multimodal post-training.

Ideal Experience

• Track record in leading research that significantly improves the capability and performance of neural networks, whether better data or better modeling.
• Experience in data-driven experiment designs and systematic analysis for iterative model debugging.
• Experience in developing or working with large-scale distributed machine learning systems.
• Ability to do whatever is necessary to deliver the best end-to-end user experience.

Tech Stack

• Python
• Jax
• Rust

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 (“intro call”) during which a member of our team will ask some basic questions. If you clear the initial , you will enter the main process, which consists of four technical interviews:

• One-on-one research discussion & coding interviews (three meetings total)
• Meet the Team: Present your past exceptional work and your vision with xAI to a small audience.

Every application is reviewed by a member of our technical team. All interviews will be conducted via Google Meet.

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.

Annual Salary Range

$180,000 - $440,000 USD

xAI is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate based on race, color, religion, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, medical conditions, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other applicable legally protected characteristics. 

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act. 

For Los Angeles County (unincorporated) Candidates:

xAI reasonably believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: 

• Access to information technology systems and confidential information, including proprietary and trade secret information, and/or user data;
• Interacting with internal and/or external clients and colleagues; and
• Exercising sound judgment.

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Notice