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Competitive Programming Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Phonic

Research Intern (Fall 2026)

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Competitive programming or olympiad background * Publications or preprints at venues like NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, Interspeech, ICASSP, or ACL Benefits * Top-tier compensation: in order to get the best ...

OpenAI

Researcher, Alignment Science

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$250K - $445K/yr

Have a strong record in technical problem solving, such as competitive programming, math contests, systems work, or similarly rigorous engineering and research projects. * Care about building AI ...

GROB Systems, Inc.

Proposal Engineer

Bluffton, OH · On-site

Within two years, we expect this individual to grow into the primary function of reviewing and evaluating inquiries independently and to develop comprehensive and competitive engineering proposals in ...

GROB-WERKE GmbH & Co. KG

Proposal Engineer

Bluffton, OH · On-site

Within two years, we expect this individual to grow into the primary function of reviewing and evaluating inquiries independently and to develop comprehensive and competitive engineering proposals in ...

Capital Health Plan

Programming Manager

Tallahassee, FL · On-site

Programming F/T or P/T status: Full-time FLSA Status: Exempt About the role: We are seeking a ... This role plays a critical part in ensuring Capital Health Plan remains technologically competitive ...

Capital Health Plan

Programming Manager

Tallahassee, FL · On-site

Programming F/T or P/T status: Full-time FLSA Status: Exempt About the role: We are seeking a ... This role plays a critical part in ensuring Capital Health Plan remains technologically competitive ...

Capital Health Plan

Programming Manager

Tallahassee, FL · On-site

Programming F/T or P/T status: Full-time FLSA Status: Exempt About the role: We are seeking a ... This role plays a critical part in ensuring Capital Health Plan remains technologically competitive ...

Meow Wolf

Director of Programming

Santa Fe, NM · On-site

$88K - $122K/yr

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING Job Disclosures: Location: On-site or Remote, providing the candidate ... Off-scale salaries may be offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions. Deadline: The ...

Coframe

Growth Engineering

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Our team is small and talent-dense, consisting of competitive programmers, former founders (our founder previously co-founded a unicorn), and AI researchers from top institutions who have created a ...

Meow Wolf

Director of Programming

Santa Fe, NM

$88K - $122K/yr

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING Job Disclosures: Location: On-site or Remote, providing the candidate ... Off-scale salaries may be offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions. Deadline: The ...

Cognition

AI Support Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

Among our founding team, we have world-class competitive programmers, former founders, and leaders from companies at the cutting edge of AI including Scale AI, Palantir, Cursor, Waymo, Tesla ...

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Competitive Programming information

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$25K

$88.9K

$149K

How much do competitive programming jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 7, 2026, the average yearly pay for competitive programming in the United States is $88,946.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $62,500.00 and $116,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What engineer makes $500,000 a year?

Highly experienced software engineers, especially those in specialized fields like machine learning, AI, or at top tech companies, can earn $500,000 or more annually through base salary, bonuses, and stock options. Achieving this level typically requires advanced skills, extensive experience, and often working in competitive, high-demand environments.

What is a Competitive Programming job?

A Competitive Programming job typically involves problem-solving, algorithm design, and coding challenges similar to those found in programming contests. These roles are common in organizations that focus on algorithm-intensive domains, such as tech giants, fintech firms, and research labs. Professionals in this field often work on optimizing code performance, developing efficient solutions, and sometimes contributing to training competitive programming teams. While it is not a conventional job title, competitive programming skills are highly valued in software engineering, algorithm development, and technical interview preparation roles.

How do I get into competitive programming?

To get into competitive programming, start by learning a programming language like C++ or Python and practicing algorithms and data structures. Participate in online contests on platforms such as Codeforces, LeetCode, or AtCoder to improve problem-solving skills and gain experience in timed environments.

What are the typical daily responsibilities of a Competitive Programmer in a professional setting?

In a professional environment, a Competitive Programmer often spends their days solving algorithmic challenges, participating in coding contests, and refining their skills through practice and learning new techniques. They may also collaborate with teammates to prepare for team-based competitions or share strategies for tackling particularly difficult problems. While much of the work is individual, there are frequent knowledge-sharing sessions and team meetings to discuss solutions and approaches. This role generally requires staying up-to-date with the latest trends in algorithms and optimizing code for both speed and efficiency, making continuous learning an integral part of the job.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Competitive Programming position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Competitive Programmer, you need advanced problem-solving abilities, strong algorithmic knowledge, and proficiency in programming languages such as C++, Java, or Python. Familiarity with online competitive programming platforms (e.g., Codeforces, LeetCode, HackerRank) and participation in recognized contests or earning relevant certifications are valuable. Resilience, time management, and the ability to work well under pressure set standout candidates apart in this role. These skills are crucial for consistently solving complex problems efficiently and performing well in high-stress, time-limited competitions.

What programming jobs are in demand?

Programming jobs in demand include software development, data analysis, cybersecurity, and machine learning engineering. These roles often require proficiency in languages like Python, Java, or C++, and familiarity with tools such as Git and cloud platforms. Demand is driven by technology growth across industries and the need for automation and data-driven solutions.

What tech jobs pay $400,000 a year?

In competitive programming, top software engineers, technical leads, and software architects at large tech companies or in specialized roles can earn $400,000 or more annually, often including bonuses and stock options. High compensation typically requires advanced skills in algorithms, data structures, and experience with large-scale systems or competitive coding environments.
More about Competitive Programming jobs
What are the most commonly searched types of Competitive Programming jobs? The most popular types of Competitive Programming jobs are:
What states have the most Competitive Programming jobs? States with the most job openings for Competitive Programming jobs include:
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Competitive Programming jobs near you
Infographic showing various Competitive Programming job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 75% Full Time, 20% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 91% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $88,946 per year, or $42.8 per hour.
Research Intern (Fall 2026)

Research Intern (Fall 2026)

Phonic

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 21 days ago

Job description

About Phonic
Phonic is a product and research lab focused on powering the most realistic, human-like voice AI conversations. We've re-thought the entire stack in pursuit of this goal, from models to product, to create voice agents that feel like they truly understand you, respond emotionally and perform agentic tasks with frontier intelligence.
Our team includes top-tier AI researchers, international olympiad medalists, and former founders.
Our customers include companies that are building voice-native AI products in industries such as customer support, healthcare, and logistics. We have raised over $30M from tier 1 VCs.
About the Team
Phonic has a very talent-dense and close-knit team. We collaborate with high trust and are constantly trying to improve how we work to deliver world-class research and product. Everyone takes ownership in what they do and they aren't afraid to dive in headfirst into new problems. Our team includes top-tier AI researchers, international olympiad medalists, and former founders and we're fully in-person in our SF office.
The Role
As a Research Intern at Phonic, you'll work directly on the core problems that make Phonic's voice AI feel genuinely human. You'll own a research direction end-to-end - from identifying the right problem to designing experiments, developing novel methods, and seeing results through to production impact. This isn't a role focused on incremental improvements; we're looking for someone with the taste to identify what matters, the rigor to pursue it correctly, and the drive to ship it. You'll be fully in-person in our SF office.
What You'll Do
  • Identify high-leverage research problems across the voice AI stack from audio understanding to audio output, and take full ownership of driving them forward
  • Design and run rigorous experiments that analyze architectural trade-offs to understand how design choices influence a model's scalability, latency, and quality
  • Curate massive training datasets and execute rigorous experiments to determine exactly how data quality shapes model behavior and performance
  • Work directly with research scientists and engineers to move fast from prototype to production
  • Build the training pipelines, evaluation frameworks, and tooling that let us experiment and iterate quickly
What You'll Bring
  • A track record of original work: you've found a real problem, developed an approach, and seen it through
  • Proficiency in PyTorch (or JAX), and the ability to implement models cleanly from papers
  • Fluency in the math, probability, optimization, and linear algebra underlying model behavior
  • You move fluidly between ideas and implementation; you don't just think about problems, you build things
  • Clear, precise written and verbal communication
Nice To Have
  • Research experience in speech, audio, or language modeling (ASR, TTS, LLMs, codec models)
  • Familiarity with generative modeling techniques: diffusion, flow matching, or autoregressive models
  • Experience with RLHF or preference optimization
  • Competitive programming or olympiad background
  • Publications or preprints at venues like NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, Interspeech, ICASSP, or ACL

Benefits
  • Top-tier compensation: in order to get the best talent, we provide salary and equity that recognize your skillset
  • Meals: free breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided in the office
  • We have regular off-sites and team celebrations

Apply