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Core Engineering Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Etched

Core Software Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$150K - $275K/yr

The Core Engineering team is our special forces. This role works directly with our founders to identify critical gaps across the organization and build solutions 0 to 1, often in days not weeks, with ...

Droisys

Core Java with Search programming

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

Core Java with Search programming Location : Sunnyvale, CA Duration : Long term NEED Green Card or Citizens Skills required : Strong core Java (Multithreading and Performance Optimization) Experience ...

Jobsbridge

Core Java Developer

San Francisco, CA

Company Description Intelliswift Software, Inc - 8-10 years hands-on experience in Java project - Very strong in Core Java, J2EE - Proven experience in Java Web Services, Spring, Hibernate - Must ...

Simular

Forward Deployed Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

The role involves translating customer needs into product features, building custom solutions, and acting as a bridge between customer-facing teams and core engineering. Responsibilities : • ...

Atria Group LLC

Core Java developer

Cupertino, CA · On-site

Expertise in Core Java with knowledge of multithreading, concurrency, memory management and NIO. Should have extensive experience in using concurrent package * Expertise in Enterprise Java or any ...

SV Tech Systems Inc

Core Java with UI

Los Gatos, CA · On-site

Need a strong Core Java server side engineer who has good basic experience with UI development as well. This person should be willing to learn more on the UI dev side and then eventually be able to ...

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All JobsCore Engineering JobsCore Engineering Jobs in California

Core Engineering information

See California salary details

$32.1K

$62.2K

$94.2K

How much do core engineering jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 12, 2026, the average yearly pay for core engineering in California is $62,152.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $46,400.00 and $71,100.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in core engineering, and why are they important?

To thrive in Core Engineering, you need a solid background in mathematics, physics, and engineering fundamentals, usually backed by a relevant degree such as Mechanical, Civil, or Electrical Engineering. Familiarity with technical tools like CAD software, simulation platforms, and industry-specific certifications (e.g., PE or FE exams) is often required. Strong problem-solving abilities, teamwork, and effective communication skills help engineers collaborate and innovate effectively. These skills ensure that complex engineering projects are executed safely, efficiently, and to the highest standards.

What is the difference between Core Engineering vs Mechanical Engineering?

AspectCore EngineeringMechanical Engineering
Required CredentialsBachelor's in Engineering, certifications in specific fieldsBachelor's in Mechanical Engineering, possibly Professional Engineer (PE) license
Work EnvironmentIndustrial plants, manufacturing, infrastructure projectsDesign offices, manufacturing plants, R&D labs
Industry UsageHeavy industry, infrastructure, energy sectorsAutomotive, aerospace, robotics, manufacturing

Core Engineering focuses on specialized technical roles within industries like manufacturing and infrastructure, often requiring specific certifications. Mechanical Engineering is broader, covering design, analysis, and manufacturing of mechanical systems across various sectors. While both share foundational engineering principles, Core Engineering tends to be more specialized and application-focused.

What does a core engineer do?

A core engineer designs, develops, and maintains the fundamental systems and components of a product or infrastructure, often focusing on low-level programming, hardware integration, or system architecture. They typically work with programming languages like C or C++, and require strong problem-solving skills and knowledge of system operations. Core engineers are essential in ensuring the stability, performance, and scalability of technical systems.

What are the typical projects and responsibilities for someone in a core engineering role?

Professionals in Core Engineering are usually responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining the foundational systems or platforms that other teams and products rely on. This often includes building scalable infrastructure, optimizing performance, and ensuring the reliability of core services. Daily tasks may involve collaborating with product teams, conducting code reviews, and troubleshooting complex technical issues. Working in Core Engineering offers opportunities to solve challenging problems and have a broad impact across the organization, as your work enables other engineers to build efficiently.

What is core engineering?

Core Engineering refers to the central disciplines of engineering, such as mechanical, electrical, civil, and chemical engineering, which form the foundation for specialized engineering roles. Professionals in core engineering are responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining essential infrastructure, systems, and technologies. These roles often involve research, problem-solving, and the application of scientific principles to create efficient and reliable products or solutions. Core engineers are employed across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, energy, automotive, and construction.
What are popular job titles related to Core Engineering jobs in California? For Core Engineering jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Core Engineering jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Core Engineering jobs in California are:
Core Engineering jobs near you
Infographic showing various Core Engineering job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 80% Full Time, 15% Part Time, 2% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 93% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 4% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $62,152 per year, or $29.9 per hour.

Core Software Engineer

Etched

San Jose, CA • On-site

$150K - $275K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision

Re-posted 21 days ago

Job description

About Etched

Etched is building hardware for frontier intelligence. We co-design chips, racks, software, and manufacturing to deliver best-in-class throughput and latency across both prefill and decode workloads. Our first products are heavily focused on inference. Backed by hundreds of millions from top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Etched is redefining the infrastructure layer for the fastest growing industry in history.

Job Summary

Build the products that will power a majority of the world’s inference. The Core Engineering team is our special forces. This role works directly with our founders to identify critical gaps across the organization and build solutions 0 to 1, often in days not weeks, with immediate feedback loops. Your projects will vary widely: one week you might build internal infrastructure to unblock a hardware team, the next you might prototype a deployment for a customer or stand up a new tooling workflow.

This role is for engineers who thrive on ambiguity, move fast without sacrificing quality, and get energy from solving whatever problem matters most right now. It is a whiteboard for future founders – if you’re interested in shipping 0-1 production-level code every week, this role is for you.

This role requires not only exceptional full-stack engineering capabilities, but also deep product sense, personal accountability, and a knack for building from the ground up. At Etched, we’re developing our processes for scale, and we’re looking for engineers to deploy to our toughest challenges. The problems we solve are time-sensitive and business-critical. This role will not be a 9-5, and the ideal candidate is excited about that.

Key Responsibilities

  • Detect problems and inefficiencies across the organization, bringing them to the attention of the executive team, and develop custom applications and projects for each need. The ideal candidate should be comfortable shipping from scratch every week.

  • Work cross-functionally to execute special projects between the executive team and the rest of the organization.

  • Define and represent operational milestones by collecting company data, developing business intuitions, and executing whatever needs to be done to meet them.

  • Design the interfaces, developer workflows, and critical infrastructure that will define the company’s technical foundation.

You may be a good fit if you

  • Strong full-stack skills (TypeScript, React, Python).

  • 1-5 years of experience building and shipping software end to end, ideally in a startup environment.

  • Product sense and its necessary prerequisites, from AI tooling proficiency to design taste.

  • Bias towards action and comfort with incomplete information.

  • Ability to continuously learn, set metrics, and solve problems with minimal supervision and maximum impact.

  • Excitement for solving technical problems with data structures, storage systems, cloud infrastructure, front-end frameworks, and other technical tools.

Strong candidates may also have experience with

  • Infrastructure or DevOps experience

  • Prior startup experience, especially during hyper growth

  • Deploying AI systems in enterprise environments

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage

    • $500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits

  • Housing subsidy of $2k per month for those living within walking distance of the office

  • Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)

  • Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more

  • Daily lunch + dinner in our office

  • Unlimited compute budget subject to ROI justification

How we’re different

Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We are the first inference-focused frontier AI system. Our addressable market is the entirety of inference, unlike many of our competitors.

 

We are a fully in-person team in San Jose (Santana Row), and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both and work across disciplines as needed.

Compensation Range: $150K - $275K