> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt.

# Software Engineer, Data Center

Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/ce985c7381d0fa5f

xAI posts a FDE role to build for teams inside the company in Memphis, TN and 1 more with no pay posted. Builds and operates internal software systems that support data center operations for frontier AI training and inference. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026.

- [xAI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/xai)

Posted Aug 11, 2026 by xAI · open on Greenhouse as of Nov 8, 2026

Pay not posted Memphis, TN +1 On-site

Builds and operates internal software systems that support data center operations for frontier AI training and inference.

- [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2Fce985c7381d0fa5f&placement=top)
- [View posting at xAI](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xai/jobs/5209858007)

Free. Upload your resume once, see why each FDE role fits, and get introduced only when you say so.

## At a glance

### Posted base pay

Not posted

Senior FDE postings, 1,864 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $160K to $220K, median $190K.

### The work

Builds for teams inside the company

Balance **Mostly building**

Project stages

1. Pre-sales (not covered)
2. Proof of concept (not covered)
3. Implementation
4. Operations

- **Coding**: Writes production code

- **Builds for**: Internal teams

- **Level**: Senior

- **Role**: Individual contributor

### What they ask for

Experience

- **3+ years** building and operating production software

Background

- **Software engineering**

### Do you meet what the posting states?

The posting asks for 3+ years. How many do you have?

The posting reads as a senior role. What level are you at now?

The job is in Memphis, TN · Southaven, MS. Could you work in one of these?

Which of these have you used in production?

Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent.

[What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths)

## Conditions

- **Location**: Memphis, TN · Southaven, MS

- **Work arrangement**: On-site

- **Remote work restrictions**: Fully onsite in Memphis, TN or Southaven, MS; candidates are expected to be located nearby or open to relocation.

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## The job description from xAI

Posted by xAI on Aug 11, 2026

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.

### SOFTWARE ENGINEER, DATA CENTER

The Data Center Engineering team builds the internal systems and platforms that keep our data centers running at the scale and reliability required for frontier AI training and inference. We partner closely with datacenter operations, research, and infrastructure teams to deliver high-leverage tools that turn raw operational data into clear insight and action.

### RESPONSIBILITIES

- Build and operate the software stacks that make site operations scalable, auditable, and fast — including repair trackers, vendor turnback workflows, operational dashboards, and their integrations. Your users are the technicians, managers, NOC operators, and leadership who run the fleet
- Design, build, and operate multi-service production systems (UI, APIs, data pipelines, auth, and on-call) for systems such as SRT-style repair/maintenance trackers and vendor turnover/turnback state machines
- Own correctness of operational state: node state accuracy, queue ownership, and audit trails — the data that decides what work happens on the floor
- Build and maintain integrations with ticketing, inventory/rack systems, telemetry stores, and vendor portals
- Keep the tools themselves reliable: uptime, data integrity, reconciliation, access control, and safe deploys
- Embed with SiteOps and NOC users; measure workflow adoption, not just feature delivery

### BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or scientific discipline
- 3+ years building and operating production software (backend and/or full-stack)

### PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

- Experience working with at least one database system such as Postgres, MongoDB, MySQL, and/or DynamoDB
- Experience working in cloud platforms like GCP, Microsoft Azure, AWS, OCI or similar
- Experience using observability tools and dashboards such as New Relic, Splunk, and/or Grafana
- Experience writing unit tests and integration tests
- Experience designing and developing RESTful APIs for mission-critical applications
- Strong proficiency in at least one programming language e.g. Rust, Python, JavaScript, Java, C++, etc
- Strong fundamental knowledge of computer science - data structures, algorithms, operating systems and networking
- Full-stack or backend + data experience, especially with workflow and state-machine systems
- Experience automating deployments using CI/CD tools like Azure Devops, ArgoCD, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, etc
- Experience building high-correctness operational UIs where a wrong value can dispatch a human to the wrong rack
- On-call discipline and a track record of treating internal platforms with production rigor
- Experience designing and shipping multi-service systems (APIs, data stores, and at least one of: UI, pipelines, or auth)
- Experience delivering high-quality internal tools in rapidly changing environments (as a tech lead, former founder, etc.)
- Proven ownership of correctness-sensitive systems — state machines, workflows, or operational data where inaccurate state has real-world impact
- Experience integrating with external systems via APIs (e.g. ticketing, inventory, telemetry, or vendor portals)
- Master's degree in computer science or related field
- Experience working with performance load testing tools like BlazeMeter, k6, etc
- Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams, such as collaborating closely with operations, NOC, and infrastructure teams

### ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

- The role is fully onsite in Memphis, TN or Southhaven, MS – candidates are expected to be located near the area or open to relocation

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

[View posting at xAI](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/xai/jobs/5209858007)

## About xAI

Builds Grok foundation models and ships them through consumer, developer, enterprise, and government products, combining frontier AI with X distribution and large-scale owned compute.

Acquired · 2000–5000 people

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- [Compare senior FDE salary ranges](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/senior)
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