---
title: 'Network Security Engineer at xAI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/network-security-engineer-xai-palo-alto-r1g262hg5fhb'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Network Security Engineer at xAI

- **Company:** xAI
- **Location:** Palo Alto, CA / Austin, TX / New York, NY / Washington, DC
- **Posted:** 2025-07-28
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xai/jobs/4800712007

## 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:

We are seeking a seasoned Senior Network Security Engineer to join our dynamic security team. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in network security technologies, focusing on switching and routing systems within cloud-native and AI-focused infrastructure. You will thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environment, demonstrating adaptability, excellent multitasking skills, and the drive to tackle complex security issues independently while ensuring robust protection for our innovative technologies.

## RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Serve as a subject matter expert in network security, particularly firewalls, VPNs, IDS/IPS, routing protocols (e.g., BGP, OSPF), and switching technologies.
- Manage and update firewall configurations across our enterprise network to align with operational and security needs.
- Deploy new firewalls, switches, routers, and network security devices in response to evolving threats and demands.
- Develop and propose innovative network security solutions to address operational challenges in routing and switching environments.
- Enhance security processes through thorough documentation and change management.
- Act as the primary resolver for complex network security issues, including escalation support.
- Ensure network security systems, switches, and routers are up-to-date with patches, firmware, and maintenance.
- Monitor and respond to security events in cloud environments (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure, Datacenter), with emphasis on network traffic analysis.

## BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or a related field.
- 4+ years of experience in network security engineering, with hands-on focus on switching and routing.
- Certifications like CISA, CRISC, CGEIT, Security+, CASP+, or similar preferred.
- Strong understanding of network security principles, protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, VLANs, ACLs), and best practices for secure routing and switching.
- Proficiency in at least one major cloud platform (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and its network security services (e.g., VPCs, Security Groups).
- Experience with network analysis tools such as Wireshark, tcpdump; and vendors including Cisco, Juniper, Palo Alto Networks.
- Familiarity with scripting languages (e.g., Python, Bash) for automation of network security tasks.

## PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

- Relevant network-specific certifications (e.g., CCNP Security, CCIE Security, JNCIP-SEC, PCNSE).
- Experience in multi-cloud environments and Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform for network provisioning.
- Knowledge of DevSecOps practices tailored to network security integration.
- Experience building custom tools or integrations for enhancing network security operations.
- Interest in leveraging AI for network threat detection and automation.
- Contributions to open-source projects in network security or related tools.

## ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR [here](https://deccs.pmddtc.state.gov/deccs).

## COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

$100,000 - $258,000 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](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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- [Legal Operations Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/legal-operations-specialist-xai-palo-alto-yvgq5sxqmheq) — Palo Alto, CA
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- [AI Tutor - Design Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-tutor-design-specialist-xai-global-gyys8ysv19rj) — Global
- [AI Tutor - Humanities](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-tutor-humanities-xai-global-f8b939y59f97) — Global
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