xAI Software Engineer Interview Experience: a rushed rocket simulation

After the recruiter step, I had a technical interview that felt medium to hard. The main task was a simulation that involved moving a rocket in a game like setting. I understood the idea and made progress, but the time box was brutal for implementing it cleanly. I ran out of time before I could make the solution fully correct and complete.

It felt as though the target was polished execution, not merely a workable approach, and my pacing was not good enough for that format. I did not move on from the round. That was disappointing because I could see how to solve the problem, just not quickly enough for the interview they used.

Location: São Paulo, São Paulo. Overall feedback: Positive. Offer status: No offer.