AI Engineer & Researcher - Inference at xAI

Palo Alto, California, United States

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$180,000 – $440,000Compensation

Mid-level (3 to 4 years), Senior (5 to 8 years)Experience Level

Full TimeJob Type

UnknownVisa

AI, TechnologyIndustries

Requirements

Experience working on system optimizations for model serving (e.g., batching, caching, load balancing, model parallelism)
Experience working on low-level optimizations for inference (e.g., GPU kernels, code generation)
Experience working on algorithmic optimizations for inference (e.g., quantization, distillation, speculative decoding)
Experience with large-scale, high concurrent production serving
Experience with testing, benchmarking, and reliability of inference services

Responsibilities

Optimizing model inference performance
Building and maintaining production serving systems
Contributing to research on scaling test-time compute

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

PythonRustPyTorchJAXCUDACUTLASSTritonNCCLKubernetesSGLangGPU kernelsbatchingcachingload balancingmodel parallelismquantizationdistillationspeculative decoding

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

What is the salary range for the AI Engineer & Researcher - Inference position?

The salary range is $180,000 - $440,000 USD.

Is this role remote or does it require working in the office?

The position is based in the Bay Area (San Francisco and Palo Alto).

What technical skills and experience are required for this role?

Required experience includes system optimizations for model serving (e.g., batching, caching), low-level optimizations (e.g., GPU kernels), algorithmic optimizations (e.g., quantization), large-scale production serving, and testing/benchmarking of inference services. The tech stack involves Python/Rust, PyTorch/JAX, CUDA/CUTLASS/Triton/NCCL, Kubernetes, and SGLang.

What is the company culture like at xAI?

The team is small, highly motivated, focused on engineering excellence, with a flat organizational structure where employees are hands-on, show initiative, and have strong communication, work ethic, and prioritization skills.

What makes a strong application for this position?

Highlight your CV and statements of exceptional work, especially in inference optimizations, production serving, and relevant tech stack experience, as the team reviews these first.

xAI

AI tools for research and information retrieval

About xAI

x.ai develops AI tools aimed at enhancing research and information retrieval. Their main product, Grok, is designed to answer a variety of questions, including unconventional ones that other AI systems might not handle. Grok provides real-time knowledge, making it a useful resource for researchers, academics, and professionals who need quick access to relevant information. Unlike competitors, Grok stands out for its ability to suggest questions and provide nuanced answers, catering to a diverse range of inquiries. The goal of x.ai is to empower users by streamlining their research processes and fostering innovation through reliable information access.

Burlingame, CaliforniaHeadquarters

2023Year Founded

$11,803.1MTotal Funding

SERIES_CCompany Stage

Data & Analytics, AI & Machine LearningIndustries

1,001-5,000Employees

Benefits

Health Insurance

Remote Work Options

Risks

Increased competition from Anthropic could challenge xAI's market position.

Legal battles involving Elon Musk may divert resources from xAI's operations.

Reliance on Nvidia GPUs poses risks if supply chain issues arise.

Differentiation

Grok answers unconventional questions, unlike many AI systems.

xAI's Grok provides real-time knowledge, enhancing research efficiency.

Grok's ability to generate striking images sets it apart in visual data processing.

Upsides

xAI secured $6 billion funding, boosting AI infrastructure and R&D.

Grok's iOS app launch expands user accessibility and engagement.

AI-driven research tools are increasingly integrated with cloud platforms, aiding xAI's growth.

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