---
title: 'Operation & Maintenance Engineer (Power Plant) - Memphis at xAI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/operation-maintenance-engineer-power-plant-memphis-xai-southaven-p0r3g46pb6yb'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-02'
---

# Operation & Maintenance Engineer (Power Plant) - Memphis at xAI

- **Company:** xAI
- **Location:** Southaven, MS / Memphis, TN
- **Posted:** 2026-10-30
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-02
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xai/jobs/5279894007

## 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.

## OPERATION & MAINTENANCE ENGINEER (POWER PLANT)

As an Operation & Maintenance Engineer, you will keep SpaceXSI’s on-site power plant running. The plant supplies power for high-density AI supercomputing facilities in the Memphis and Southaven area, and it has to stay online 24/7.

You will work across gas turbines and generators, balance-of-plant, fuel gas and process/fluid systems, water, compressed and instrument air, HVAC and cooling, and plant electrical systems. The turbine fleet is several different manufacturers. You are expected to be proficient on every type on site, not specialized in one OEM. You will troubleshoot equipment, direct contractors, and use AI to simplify how the plant is operated and maintained. Your schedule flexes, including nights, weekends, holidays, and callouts, so the plant always has engineering coverage. This is a full-time, on-site role in the Memphis region.

## RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Provide operation and maintenance engineering support for the multi-manufacturer gas turbine fleet, generators, balance-of-plant, process and fluid systems, and plant electrical systems, including protection, e-houses, blackstart, and switching.
- Be proficient across all turbine types on site and apply that knowledge to troubleshooting, maintenance, and operating decisions.
- Flex shifts and work hours, including nights, weekends, holidays, and callouts, to maintain 24/7 engineering coverage.
- Troubleshoot trips, alarms, and equipment failures with the shift team and return the plant to service.
- Direct contractors: define the work, set when it is done, and confirm it is completed safely and correctly.
- Use AI to streamline and simplify engineering, operating, and maintenance work.
- Own reliability on assigned systems: bad-actor elimination, root-cause investigations, and corrective actions.
- Write and maintain the engineering plans and procedures the plant is being stood up on, including operating, maintenance, and switching and isolation instructions.
- Manage the critical-parts list so the right parts are identified, stocked, and ready.
- Build and maintain the preventive and predictive maintenance program in the CMMS, including tasks, frequencies, and as-found/as-left records.
- Support outage planning and execution, and support start-up, shutdown, commissioning, and turnover of new generation and balance-of-plant systems.
- Apply SpaceXAI safety standards in the field, including LOTO, NFPA 70E / arc-flash, confined space, and hot work. Stop work when conditions are unsafe.

## BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, or other engineering discipline.
- 3+ years of operation or maintenance engineering experience in a power plant, generating station, or other high-reliability industrial facility.

## PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

- Experience with gas turbines from more than one manufacturer, plus balance-of-plant, fuel gas, water, compressed air, and plant electrical systems.
- Willingness to work rotating or flexible shifts, including nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call, to support 24/7 plant coverage.
- Experience using AI tools to streamline or simplify engineering, maintenance, or operating processes.
- Experience directing contractors, including assigning work and setting the schedule.
- Experience managing critical-parts lists.
- Experience with engineering planning and procedure writing.
- Working knowledge of P&IDs, single-line diagrams, electrical schematics, protection, and switching.
- Experience with LOTO and NFPA 70E / arc-flash practices.
- Experience with a CMMS, including preventive maintenance, work orders, and equipment history.
- Experience supporting outages, commissioning, or root-cause investigations on power plant equipment.

## ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

- Willingness to be in the plant and to perform hands-on work in all environments (heat, cold, rain), in tight quarters or at heights.
- Remain focused while working in hazardous environments, while wearing appropriate PPE.
- Must be able to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted.
- Lifting, standing, climbing, bending, grasping, sitting, pulling, pushing, stooping, stretching, and carrying are generally required to perform the functions of this position.
- Must be able to work on-site at the power generation facility, with potential travel to other SpaceXAI sites.
- Valid driver’s license.

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)

## Other roles at xAI

- [Construction Superintendent, Structural - Memphis](https://feeny.ai/job/construction-superintendent-structural-memphis-xai-southaven-a6rr0ya3qt76) — Southaven, MS / Memphis, TN
- [Construction Superintendent, Fluid/Mechanical - Memphis](https://feeny.ai/job/construction-superintendent-fluid-mechanical-memphis-xai-southaven-n6ravr19s9hb) — Southaven, MS / Memphis, TN
- [Instrumentation & Controls Technician (Power Plant) - Memphis](https://feeny.ai/job/instrumentation-controls-technician-power-plant-memphis-xai-southaven-ayevpek1xk65) — Southaven, MS / Memphis, TN
- [Construction Superintendent, Electrical - Memphis](https://feeny.ai/job/construction-superintendent-electrical-memphis-xai-southaven-rrjz21g4ejfn) — Southaven, MS / Memphis, TN
- [KYC Analyst](https://feeny.ai/job/kyc-analyst-xai-palo-alto-0es9bevgt35j) — Palo Alto, CA / New York, NY
- [Sr. Analyst, Monetization Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-analyst-monetization-operations-xai-austin-qqg1a7zkp8gk) — Austin, TX
- [Sr. Mechanical Engineer - Memphis](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-mechanical-engineer-memphis-xai-southaven-3mtcdrsmmbn3) — Southaven, MS / Memphis, TN
- [Sr. Manager, Materials Management - Memphis](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-manager-materials-management-memphis-xai-southaven-ax5k70j9zhcx) — Southaven, MS / Memphis, TN
- [Senior Product Manager, Commerce Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-manager-commerce-platform-xai-palo-alto-wcvway13cf0x) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Client Partner, Digital Native & E-commerce](https://feeny.ai/job/client-partner-digital-native-e-commerce-xai-singapore-3rccf3q2vh5h) — Singapore