Software Engineer, Data Platform

xAI|29 Jul 2025

fulltimeonsite

Before you apply

Listed location: Palo Alto, CA

Work arrangement: onsite. A remote label does not confirm worldwide eligibility or visa sponsorship.

Read the employer’s description for qualifications, compensation and work eligibility. Confirm the position is still open on the application page.

Job description supplied by xAI; category and skill labels may be inferred. How our listings work · Report a problem

Job Description

SpaceXAI’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.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Data Platform team builds and operates the infrastructure responsible for all large-scale data transport and processing across the company. We own and manage core systems including Apache Kafka, HDFS, Spark, Flink, and Trino, enabling real-time ML pipelines, feed ranking, experimentation, analytics, and observability at petabyte scale. Our team deals with latency-critical workloads, high-throughput streaming, and distributed compute systems that require fault tolerance, performance, and absolute reliability.

As a software engineer on the Data Platform team, you will design, build, and operate the distributed systems powering SpaceXAI's data movement and compute. You will take ownership of infrastructure components that process trillions of events daily, driving the scalability, performance, and reliability of the systems that power product and ML workloads across the company.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Design and implement high-throughput, low-latency data ingestion and transport systems.
Scale and optimize multi-tenant Kafka infrastructure supporting real-time workloads.
Extend and tune Spark, Flink, and Trino for demanding production pipelines.
Build interfaces, APIs, and pipelines enabling teams to query, process, and move data at petabyte scale.
Debug and optimize distributed systems, with a focus on reliability and performance under load.
Collaborate with ML, product, and infrastructure teams to unblock critical data workflows.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Proven expertise in distributed systems, stream processing, or large-scale data platforms.
Proficiency in Rust, Go, Scala or similar systems languages.
Hands-on experience with Kafka, Flink, Spark, Trino, or Hadoop*in production.
Strong debugging, profiling, and performance optimization skills.
Track record of shipping and maintaining critical infrastructure.
Comfortable working in fast-moving, high-stakes environments with minimal guardrails.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

$180,000 - $440,000 USD

Base salary is just one part of our total rewards package at SpaceXAI, 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.

SpaceXAI is an equal opportunity employer. For details on data processing, view our Recruitment Privacy Notice.

Skills mentioned

GoRustSparkKafkaScalaDistributed Systems

Frequently asked questions

Is the Software Engineer, Data Platform position at xAI remote?

The Software Engineer, Data Platform role at xAI does not have a confirmed remote arrangement in our data. Check the employer description for its work location.

What type of employment is the Software Engineer, Data Platform role?

xAI is hiring for a full-time Software Engineer, Data Platform position.

Which skills are mentioned for the Software Engineer, Data Platform job at xAI?

Detected skill labels include Go, Rust, Spark, Kafka, Scala, Distributed Systems. Check the employer description to distinguish required skills from preferred experience.