---
title: 'Network Connectivity Engineer (Fiber Optic Layout) at xAI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/network-connectivity-engineer-fiber-optic-layout-xai-southaven-6shqcvbbn3td'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-19'
---

# Network Connectivity Engineer (Fiber Optic Layout) at xAI

- **Company:** xAI
- **Location:** Southaven, MS / Memphis, TN
- **Posted:** 2026-08-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-19
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xai/jobs/5224551007

## Job description

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today, SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary and expanding consciousness to the stars.

SpaceXSI is building Super Intelligence to help humanity understand the universe. Our teams are building the full Super Intelligence stack: from our Colossus supercomputers, to Grok models, to our suite of applications, including Grok Bot, Grok Build, Grok Imagine, Grok Voice, and X. We're creating a powerful flywheel where more compute trains better models, better models power more useful products, and what we learn from people using those products shapes what we build next.

## ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Data Center Engineering team designs training and inference compute clusters from first principles, pushing thermal, electrical, and optical systems to the limit of physics. We operate as a highly cross disciplinary team comprised of mechanical, electrical, optical, and software engineers, all working to maximize the efficiency, reliability, and deployment speed of terrestrial compute to serve rapidly scaling demand.

As a Network Connectivity Engineer, you will design, deploy, and qualify large scale fiber optic networks for hundreds of thousands of coherently connected GPUs. You’ll architect systems for maximum bandwidth and minimum latency, collaborating with optical, mechanical, and software engineers to translate your designs into the largest coherent computing networks in the world.

## RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Design and plan scalable, future-proof data center connectivity for clusters of hundreds of thousands of GPUs, including structured cabling plants that support evolving architectures and speeds beyond 800G.
- Procure fiber, copper, and other connectivity materials for new builds, expansions, and technology refreshes.
- Provide project management and construction oversight for connectivity scope on new data center builds and expansions.
- Plan and implement network upgrades and overhauls for technology refreshes in live data center environments.
- Develop Methods of Procedure (MOPs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for connectivity deployments in live environments.
- Audit existing and new connectivity installations and hold vendors accountable for troubleshooting and repairs prior to network deployment turnover.
- Develop and maintain as-built documentation for all data center connectivity.
- Release and troubleshoot ISP circuits across multiple regions; interface with data center providers to drive circuit and cross-connect deployments.
- Collaborate with capacity planning, network engineering, hardware reliability, and construction teams on cluster design and delivery.
- Apply knowledge of applicable building codes and industry standards to connectivity design and installation.

## BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline, or 8 years of equivalent practical experience.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience working in and designing data center connectivity.
- Experience with multimode fiber, singlemode fiber, copper, and other low-voltage telecommunication systems.
- Familiarity with structured cabling and both active and passive cabling elements.
- Ability to travel approximately 40%.

## PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

- RCDD (Registered Communications Distribution Designer) certification.
- Experience performing budget loss, insertion loss, and return loss calculations for structured cable systems.
- Experience deploying network elements such as routing switches, aggregation switches, optical transceivers, and DWDM.
- Ability to interpret fiber test results.
- Experience with network connectivity testing (singlemode duplex, multimode duplex, MPO8, MPO12, MPO16, AOC, DAC, and copper) and troubleshooting using OTDR, light meters, VFLs, loopbacks, and BERT across vendors.
- Experience building and designing scalable fiber and connectivity plants for large-scale data centers across Ethernet, InfiniBand, and RoCE networks.
- Experience designing and deploying connectivity for high-speed / high-bandwidth HPC and ML applications.
- Experience troubleshooting optical transceivers, network switches, fiber, and other Layer 1 hardware.
- Knowledge of basic programming languages such as Python and SQL.
- Experience deploying monitoring and alerting systems for environmental, mechanical, and electrical data center systems.
- Ability to manage multiple projects across different time zones simultaneously.
- Knowledge of relevant building codes and industry cabling standards (TIA, BICSI, NEC).

## ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

- Physical ability to perform hands-on work in data center environments, including heat, cold, and tight quarters.
- Ability to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support deployments and cutovers.
- Ability to travel approximately 40% as required by project needs.
- Valid driver’s license.
- Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. unassisted.

SpaceXSI is an equal opportunity employer. For details on data processing, view our [Recruitment Privacy Notice](https://x.ai/legal/recruitment-privacy-notice).

## About xAI

## Company Overview
- **One‑liner**: xAI builds artificial intelligence systems to accelerate human scientific discovery and “understand the universe,” with products spanning frontier reasoning models, real‑time voice, and generative media.
- **Entity Type**: Private (last funding round: Series E, January 2026; acquired by SpaceX in February 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, USA (additional offices in Seattle, WA; Memphis, TN; London, UK)
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Elon Musk

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI research, large language models, voice AI, generative media)
- Target customers: B2B (developers via API), B2C (consumers via Grok on 𝕏, SuperGrok subscriptions), Enterprise & Government (xAI for Government)
- Mission: “To understand the universe” – building AI that extends what humanity can know and do.

## Products & Services
- **Grok (base models)** : A conversational AI assistant modeled after *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy*, available on the 𝕏 platform and via API.
- **Grok 4 / Grok 4 Heavy**: The most intelligent reasoning models, featuring native tool use and real‑time search integration (SuperGrok and Premium+ tiers).
- **Grok Voice Agent API / Voice Agent Builder**: Create custom voice agents in under two minutes (no‑code) – includes speech‑to‑text, text‑to‑speech, custom voice cloning, and multilingual support.
- **Grok Imagine API**: State‑of‑the‑art video generation API (quality, cost, latency).
- **Grok‑1.5 / Grok‑2 / Grok‑2 mini**: Earlier model releases with improved reasoning and 128K context length.
- **PromptIDE**: An integrated development environment for prompt engineering and interpretability research.
- **xAI for Government**: A suite of frontier AI products tailored for U.S. government customers.
- **Colossus Supercomputer**: 200,000‑GPU cluster built in 122 days, used for training xAI models; now also leased to Anthropic (Colossus 1 agreement).

All products are delivered as SaaS, API, and model weights (open‑source release of Grok‑1).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Funding**: 
  - Series B (May 2024): $6 B 
  - Series C (Dec 2024): $6 B (led by A16Z, BlackRock, Fidelity, Kingdom Holdings, Lightspeed, MGX, Morgan Stanley, OIA, QIA, Sequoia, Valor, Vy Capital, others)
  - Series E (Jan 2026): $20 B
  - Acquisition by SpaceX announced Feb 2, 2026 (terms not disclosed).
- **Key Metric**: Total disclosed funding ~$32 B; annual revenue not publicly available.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: A16Z, BlackRock, Fidelity, Sequoia Capital, Morgan Stanley, Kingdom Holdings, Lightspeed, MGX, Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Anthropic (Colossus deal), U.S. Department of War (selected Dec 2025).
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Rapid scaling from founding to 200K‑GPU cluster in 122 days.
  - Over 214 open roles listed on Greenhouse as of mid‑2026.
  - #1 on Big Bench Audio (Grok 4 audio performance).
  - Expanded into voice agents, video generation, and government verticals within 3 years.
  - Acquisition by SpaceX signals deep integration with space‑tech resources.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Compute infrastructure**: Colossus supercomputer – one of the largest GPU clusters in existence, enabling faster training and larger models.
- **Model performance**: Grok 4 claims “most intelligent model in the world” with top benchmarks (Big Bench Audio #1).
- **Vertical integration**: Tight coupling with 𝕏 platform for data, distribution, and real‑time world knowledge.
- **Speed of execution**: “Move quickly and fix things” culture; built Colossus in 122 days.
- **Government contracts**: Early access to public‑sector AI markets (U.S. Department of War).
- **Talent density**: Small, focused team of researchers and engineers; in‑person work accelerates iteration.

## Strategic Focus
- **Continue advancing frontier reasoning** (Grok 4 Heavy, next‑gen models).
- **Expand voice and multimodal APIs** for developers (Voice Agent Builder, Custom Voices Library).
- **Deepen government / defense partnerships** (xAI for Government, Department of War).
- **Scale infrastructure** post‑acquisition via SpaceX resources.
- **Remain “open” where strategic** (open‑source release of Grok‑1 weights).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “Ambitious goals, fast execution” – rejects consensus in favor of first‑principles reasoning. In‑person work prioritized (Palo Alto, Seattle, Memphis, London).
- **Benefits**: 
  - Competitive cash + equity compensation.
  - Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance.
  - 401(k) plan, fertility benefits, flexible vacation.
  - Visa sponsorship offered.
- **Engineering culture**: No recruiters for assessments – applications reviewed directly by technical team. Interview process: application → screening → technical interviews → offer.
- **Mission‑driven**: Opportunity to work on frontier AI models that aim to “advance humanity.”
- **Perks**: In‑person collaboration, fast‑paced environment, ownership of meaningful projects.

## Sources
1. [x.ai/company](https://x.ai/company)
2. [x.ai/careers](https://x.ai/careers)
3. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/xai](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xai)
4. [x.ai/news](https://x.ai/news)
5. [x.ai/careers/open-roles](https://x.ai/careers/open-roles)

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