Mission Manager - International Government

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XAI is seeking a Mission Manager for international government work in London, full-time onsite. You’ll partner with government agencies and global customers to design and deploy AI solutions, guiding proposals from requirements through prototyping to rollout and translating data into clear customer insights. Ideal candidates have a solid engineering background, government-partnership experience, and the ability to travel 25% to full relocation for international assignments across the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. You’ll need strong communication, problem solving, user empathy, and proficiency in Python, SQL or TypeScript. The interview process centers on a Statement of Exceptional Work, a 15-minute technical screen, and three longer interviews, all typically within a week. Prepare by highlighting impact, scalability, and how you translate vague problems into actionable specs.

About xAI

xAI’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

Mission Managers collaborate directly with international government agencies and global partners to strategize and execute mission-critical AI solutions.

You'll support new business proposals from requirements validation through solution design, prototyping, development, and rollout. As part of a team of Applied engineers, AI Researchers, and fellow Mission Managers, you'll connect disparate data points into a clear map of customer challenges—and align them with xAI products or collaborate with engineers to build new ones.

Top candidates bring a technical foundation, analytical mindset, and strong problem-solving curiosity. They demonstrate strong user empathy, a proven ability to execute quickly, resolve obstacles efficiently, and a proactive, hands-on approach to delivering results for customers.

In this role, you'll tackle problems demanding curiosity, analytical thinking, product intuition, and deep user empathy to empower customers.

Responsibilities

• Leading problem discovery and product scoping for key customers, often on-site during international assignments
• Meeting customers on-site in regions such as the Americas, Asia, or the Middle East to deploy xAI models/products in their environments or integrate their software with xAI's cloud, alongside engineers 
• Leading training sessions for stakeholders, team members, and end-users on xAI's AI models, tools, and integrations
• Compiling and presenting progress reports to senior leadership, including demos, challenges, and recommendations for strategic adjustments
• Identifying pain points, scoping specs, and building LLM-powered software for international government use cases
• Optimizing model performance via prompt tuning or fine-tuning for secure, scalable deployment, and working with SMEs at the customer to improve this process
• Analyzing logs, prompts, or outputs to ensure system reliability and effectiveness

Required Qualifications

• Government Partnership Experience: Proven success collaborating with international government agencies, multilateral organizations, or contractors to deliver large AI, software, or data sovereignty initiatives.
• Expertise in designing, implementing, and maintaining secure, scalable AI solutions that comply with international standards (e.g., GDPR equivalents or regional data protection regulations)
• Ability to travel - 25% to full relocation for international assignments
• Strong engineering background in areas like Computer Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering, Physics, or Data Science
• Experience in Software Engineering or Machine Learning
• Passion for solving complex, real-world problems—especially in global civilian missions—delivering AI-driven impact
• Adaptability to evolving priorities in a fast-paced, mission-oriented startup, including the ability to travel or undertake international assignments primarily in the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East.
• Strong communication to engage international government stakeholders, users, and officers—clarifying requirements and driving project success across diverse cultural and regulatory landscapes
• Low ego, prioritizing mission objectives over personal credit
• Skill in structuring vague problems and communicating them clearly to engineers, senior stakeholders, and operators.
• Proficiency in programming/scripting (e.g., Python, SQL, TypeScript) for tool-building, data analysis, or debugging

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience partnering with engineering teams to design, scope, and deploy complex AI solutions Background working with International Government customers
• Skill in creating user manuals or onboarding materials for non-technical audiences
• Proficiency handling large datasets, optimizing performance, and scaling for high-throughput, critical workloads
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tools like or Terraform, especially in secure/international government environments

Interview Process

After submitting your application, the team reviews your CV and statement of exceptional work. If your application passes this stage, you will be invited to a 15 minute interview (“technical phone interview”) during which a member of our team will ask technical questions about your background or specialization. If you clear the initial phone interview, you will enter the main process, which consists of three technical interviews:

**Please note that the Statement of Exceptional Work is a key deciding factor for consideration.**

1. 15 min Technical Screen
2. 3x 45 min Technical Interviews

Our goal is to finish the main process idealy within one week

Benefits

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

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