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Authenticator Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Specialist, Handbags

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$70K - $90K/yr

Experience as a handbag's authenticator and valuer * Experience in auction house, ecommerce or second-hand luxury shop * Knowledge of retail and resale markets for luxury handbags and accessories

Senior Engineer, Agentic Identity

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$123K - $169K/yr

Build and maintain Passport - the user's cloud-resident principal account with canonical handle, KYC/KYB record, authorized-operators list, audit feed, and authenticator binding. * Develop operator ...

Showing results 21-37

Authenticator information

See California salary details

$58.7K

$149.7K

$193.4K

How much do authenticator jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 15, 2026, the average yearly pay for authenticator in California is $149,676.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $131,300.00 and $172,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is an authenticator?

An Authenticator is responsible for examining and verifying the authenticity of items such as artwork, collectibles, documents, or luxury goods. They use specialized knowledge, tools, and techniques to assess an item's origin, materials, and historical context. Authenticators may work for museums, auction houses, financial institutions, or private collectors. Their role helps prevent fraud, ensure accurate valuations, and maintain the integrity of valuable assets.

What are the typical challenges faced by authenticators in their daily work?

Authenticators often encounter challenges such as distinguishing extremely convincing counterfeits, keeping up with evolving forgery techniques, and managing large volumes of items needing assessment within tight deadlines. They must also stay current with market trends and authenticity standards for a wide range of products, which can require ongoing research and training. Additionally, the role frequently involves working independently while collaborating with specialists, collectors, or law enforcement when needed. The ability to confidently and accurately communicate verification outcomes is crucial, especially in cases where items are of significant value or emotional importance to clients.

How do you become an authenticator?

To become an authenticator, you typically need relevant experience in security, verification, or customer service, along with strong attention to detail. Some roles may require certifications such as security or identity verification training, and familiarity with verification tools or software is beneficial.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an authenticator?

To thrive as an Authenticator, you need expertise in identifying and evaluating genuine versus counterfeit items, strong attention to detail, and often a background in art, collectibles, or specialized merchandise. Familiarity with research databases, magnification tools, UV lighting, and specialized authentication software or certifications (such as from the Gemological Institute of America for jewelry) is typically required. Excellent communication, analytical thinking, and integrity are key soft skills that help build trust and effectively share findings with clients or stakeholders. These skills are important to ensure accurate assessments, maintain industry credibility, and protect both clients and employers from fraud.

What are popular job titles related to Authenticator jobs in California?

For Authenticator jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Authenticator jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Authenticator jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Authenticator jobs?

Cities in California with the most Authenticator job openings:

Infographic showing various Authenticator job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 2% As Needed, 89% Full Time, 4% Part Time, and 5% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $149,676 per year, or $72 per hour.

Senior Software Engineer - Wallet/Authentication Platform (Client & Credentials)

ID.me

Mountain View, CA • On-site

$144K - $190K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted just now


ID.me rating

5.5

Company rating: 5.5 out of 10

Based on 8 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

231st of 244 rated software companies


Job description

Role Overview

ID.me is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join the Wallet/Authentication Platform team, with a focus on the client-side and credential-layer experiences that power the ID.me digital identity wallet. This role sits at the leading edge of digital identity - building the mobile and web surfaces through which over 140 million members hold, manage, and present their credentials.

Our team is investing heavily in next-generation wallet capabilities: W3C Verifiable Credentials, ISO 18013-5 mobile driver's licenses (mDL), passkeys, and cryptographically-bound credentials secured by device hardware. You will bring deep experience in mobile development, secure hardware APIs, and digital credential standards to help us ship these capabilities securely and at scale.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will operate with a high degree of independence, designing and shipping features across iOS, Android, and/or web wallet clients while partnering closely with Platform, Security, Identity, and Product to ensure our credential issuance and presentation flows meet the highest bar for usability, interoperability, and security.

This position will work from our Mountain View, CA office five days per week.

Key Responsibilities
  • Digital Wallet Client Development: Build and maintain the client-side wallet experience - credential storage, management, and presentation flows across iOS, Android, and web. Deliver seamless, secure UX for issuing, holding, and presenting Verifiable Credentials and other identity artifacts.
  • Verifiable Credentials & Standards Implementation: Implement and evolve support for W3C Verifiable Credentials (VC Data Model), Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), and related protocols (SD-JWT VC, mdoc/ISO 18013-5). Engage with emerging standards to inform ID.me's credential architecture.
  • Secure Hardware & Cryptographic Storage: Leverage platform secure storage APIs - iOS Keychain, Android Keystore / StrongBox to bind credentials and keys to device hardware. Design credential lifecycles with strong cryptographic guarantees for issuance, binding, revocation, and presentation.
  • Authentication Integration: Integrate wallet credential flows with the broader authentication stack, passkeys/FIDO2, OIDC credential presentations, and protocol-level bridges between identity wallet and relying party verification. Ensure the client-side auth surface is hardened against phishing, replay, and interception attacks.
  • Code Quality & Engineering Craft: Write high-quality, maintainable code with strong test coverage, following team best practices around code reviews, CI/CD, and documentation. Contribute to codebase health by identifying and addressing technical debt and improving shared components.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Product, Design, Security, Identity Standards, and adjacent engineering teams to ship cohesive credential experiences. Participate actively in planning, retrospectives, and cross-team discussions - bringing your perspective to help shape the team's roadmap.
  • Mentorship & Leadership: Provide technical guidance to junior engineers through code reviews, design discussions, and pairing. Help establish and reinforce team standards for secure client development.
Required Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
  • 5+ years of professional software development experience, with significant focus on mobile or client-side engineering.
  • 1+ years experience with AI-assisted development tooling (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor) demonstrated by at least one year of daily use, in addition to a commitment to an AI-first engineering culture that leverages these tools to maximize code quality, test coverage, and engineering velocity.
  • 1+ years experience developing production mobile applications for iOS (Swift/Objective-C) or Android (Kotlin/Java), or cross-platform (React Native, Flutter) with native module integration.
Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience implementing W3C Verifiable Credentials (VC Data Model 1.x/2.x), Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), or related decentralized identity standards (SD-JWT VC, mdoc/ISO 18013-5 mDL).
  • Demonstrated ability to independently own and ship complex features end-to-end with minimal oversight.
  • Hands-on experience with platform secure hardware APIs: iOS Secure Enclave, iOS Keychain, Android Keystore, Android StrongBox, or equivalent Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) primitives.
  • Familiarity with cryptographic key management in mobile contexts - key generation, attestation, binding, rotation, and secure deletion.
  • Experience building digital wallet applications - credential issuance flows, presentation protocols, and holder-binding mechanisms.
  • Familiarity with passkeys/FIDO2/WebAuthn, especially platform authenticator integration on iOS and Android.
  • Experience with authentication and identity protocols: OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), OIDC for Verifiable Presentations (OID4VP), or SIOP v2.
  • Familiarity with NIST SP 800-63 identity assurance levels and what they mean for credential binding and presentation security.
  • Experience with React or modern web frameworks for building wallet-style web client experiences.
  • Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and mobile-specific testing tooling.
  • Exposure to low-level mobile development and mobile networking security - including SIM/eSIM architecture, SIM Network Authentication (SNA), carrier-level authentication primitives, SS7/Diameter security considerations, and the security properties and attack surface of cellular identity.
  • Startup or high-growth company experience with a strong bias toward execution and ownership.
About ID.me

ID.me is the next-generation digital identity wallet that simplifies how individuals securely prove their identity online. Consumers can verify their identity with ID.me once and seamlessly log in across websites without needing to create a new login and re-verify. Over 140 million users experience streamlined login and identity verification with ID.me at 20 federal agencies, 44 state government agencies, and 66 healthcare organizations. More than 600 consumer brands use ID.me to verify communities and user segments to honor service and build more authentic relationships. ID.me's technology meets the federal standards for consumer authentication set by the Commerce Department and is approved as a NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 / AAL2 credential service provider by the Kantara Initiative. ID.me is committed to "No Identity Left Behind" to enable all people to have a secure digital identity.


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