xAI Software Engineer interview experience

The tough part was the topic: it revolved around a simulation, and the time limit was only about an hour to understand the prompt and then write code.

The assignment felt demanding because simulation problems can sprawl quickly—everything depends on getting the modeling right early. I struggled with how much they expected to fit into that timeframe, and it left me feeling like I was racing the clock more than actually designing.

I didn’t move forward from that stage. Overall it was one of the most intense “write it under pressure” exercises I’d seen in the process.