xAI

Software Engineer - Network (C++)

Palo Alto, CA; Seattle, WA

Sponsorship not specified$180k-$440kDetected 1 day ago

C++Distributed SystemsAlgorithmsCI/CDData AnalysisTCP/IPLeadershipCommunicationProblem Solving

About the role

This includes the massive GPU clusters, high-speed interconnect fabric, and the software that makes it all work at unprecedented scale.
Your work will directly impact training efficiency, model convergence, and the speed at which we can push the frontier of AI.
You will solve hard problems in distributed systems, high-performance networking, and real-time control of one of the largest AI supercomputers on Earth.

Develop routing and traffic-engineering algorithms for the Colossus high-performance datacenter network.
Develop highly reliable, real-time software designed to run on the switches that form the backbone of our low-latency, high-bandwidth AI training fabric.
Participate in and lead architecture, design, and code reviews.
Develop prototypes and run experiments to validate key design decisions at both small and full-cluster scale.
Build tools for software development, deployment, data analysis, visualization, and testing across virtualized environments, hardware-in-the-loop setups, and live production clusters.
As a Software Engineer on the Colossus Networking team, you will develop the core networking software that maximizes the performance and reliability of our datacenter fabric.
Our engineers own the full lifecycle of their software - from design and implementation to deployment, monitoring, and iteration based on real-world performance at scale.

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, or a related technical discipline
OR 2+ years of professional software development experience in lieu of a degree.
Strong development experience in C or C++.
Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed.

Strong professional experience writing high-performance C/C++ in production environments.
Deep knowledge of networking protocols (UDP, TCP/IP, RDMA, etc.), distributed systems, and large-scale datacenter fabrics.
Background in real-time systems, high-performance computing, low-latency networking, or resource-constrained environments.
Creative problem-solving ability with exceptional analytical skills and strong engineering fundamentals.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with evolving requirements.
Experience with security considerations in large-scale distributed systems.
This organization is for individuals who appreciate challenging themselves and thrive on curiosity.
All employees are expected to be hands-on and to contribute directly to the company's mission.
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.

This listing is sourced directly from xAI's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.