$240K–$300K/yrHybridSenior · Full-time
Software Engineer salary in California
From 1,141 US job postings that list pay, out of 1,297 open Software Engineer jobs in California. These are the amounts employers advertised, not pay reported by employees.
- Median pay
- $213ka year
- Middle half
- $179k–$254k25th to 75th percentile
- Postings with pay
- 1,141of 1,297 open jobs · 1 paid by the hour
Pay range
$150k$289k
Pay by experience level
| Level the posting asks for | Median a year | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| Entry level | $146k | 42 |
| Mid level | $183k | 253 |
| Senior | $215k | 649 |
| Lead / manager | $254k | 197 |
Top-paying companies
| Company | Median a year | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | $366k | 9 |
| Sierra | $310k | 9 |
| Mercor | $298k | 4 |
| Zoox | $295k | 6 |
| Wayve | $288k | 3 |
| $287k | 4 | |
| shepherd | $285k | 4 |
| Block | $272k | 4 |
| Snowflake | $266k | 6 |
| Snap | $261k | 9 |
Companies with at least 3 postings that list pay.
Pay by city in California
| City | Median a year | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | $225k | 279 |
| San Mateo, CA | $220k | 56 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $213k | 120 |
| Mountain View, CA | $213k | 165 |
| San Jose, CA | $206k | 57 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $206k | 33 |
| Santa Clara, CA | $202k | 86 |
| Palo Alto, CA | $200k | 41 |
| San Diego, CA | $174k | 56 |
Open Software Engineer jobs with pay listed
$197K–$262K/yrHybridSenior · Full-time
$262K–$364K/yrOnsiteLead / Staff+
$160K–$250K/yrOnsiteFull-time
$210K–$275K/yrOnsiteSenior · Full-time
$250K–$300K/yrOnsiteFull-time
How these numbers are made
- Lumirole reads job postings straight from employers' own career sites (Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS and 30 more), not job boards, and keeps the pay each posting states.
- Only open US postings for this job title count, with pay in US dollars of at least $10k a year. A range counts at its middle. Hourly pay is turned into a year at 2,080 hours (40 a week), daily pay at 260 days.
- These are advertised amounts, not what people are paid: bonuses, equity and tips aren't included. A company or place is listed once it has enough postings with pay.
- Updated November 12, 2026; the numbers move as jobs open and close.