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Data Annotation Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Sr. Software Engineer - Data, Siri Speech

Cupertino, CA · On-site

$141.30K - $169.60K/yr

You will be part of a cross-functional team consisting of software engineers as well as data and ... data annotation that runs on a self-serve platform- Deploy and implement LLM-based chatbots to make ...

Our Helix team is looking for an experienced Data Infrastructure Engineer, to take our AI data ... Experience building data annotation and dataset management tools. The US base salary range for this ...

Senior AI/ML Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site +1

$124.30K - $170.70K/yr

Apply ML to labeling itself Collaborate with ML engineers to design and integrate ML-driven data annotation (pre-labeling, autolabeling, active learning loops), helping us move from human-only to ...

Oversee the entire data lifecycle from client intake and annotation workflow design to delivery * Partner with product, research, and engineering teams to implement evaluation metrics (e.g., win rate ...

Senior AI/ML Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

$122.60K - $168.40K/yr

Apply ML to labeling itself Collaborate with ML engineers to design and integrate ML-driven data annotation (pre-labeling, autolabeling, active learning loops), helping us move from human-only to ...

Lead audio data collection and annotation efforts at Sesame. * Collaborate with research and ... Work closely with tooling engineers to support data-related tasks. * Oversee data acquisition ...

Our team combines deep expertise in model innovation and systems engineering paired with a design ... Own relationships with vendors such as data annotation firms and contractor platforms, negotiating ...

Guide research and engineering teams on data science methodology , statistical inference , and ... Prior experience with data annotation , labeling, evaluation, or human feedback collection.

... annotation and labeling to support machine learning model training * Document quality standards and create comprehensive reports on data quality metrics * Collaborate with engineering teams to ...

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Showing results 1-20

Data Annotation Engineer information

See California salary details

$50.8K

$145.5K

$194.4K

How much do data annotation engineer jobs pay per year?

As of May 30, 2026, the average yearly pay for data annotation engineer in California is $145,530.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $82,900.00 and $193,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a Data Annotation Engineer job?

A Data Annotation Engineer is responsible for labeling and annotating data—such as text, images, audio, or video—to train machine learning models. They ensure that data is accurately categorized and structured to improve model performance. This role often involves using specialized annotation tools, following detailed guidelines, and working closely with data scientists and AI teams. Data Annotation Engineers play a crucial role in the development of AI applications by providing high-quality labeled datasets for supervised learning.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Data Annotation Engineer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Data Annotation Engineer, you need a strong background in data analysis, attention to detail, and familiarity with annotation processes, often supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Proficiency with annotation tools like Labelbox, CVAT, or VIA, and understanding of data formats used in machine learning, is commonly required. Excellent communication, collaboration, and organizational skills help you effectively manage projects and cooperate with cross-functional teams. These abilities are crucial for delivering high-quality labeled data, which directly impacts the performance of AI and machine learning models.

What are the main challenges faced by Data Annotation Engineers in their daily work?

One of the main challenges Data Annotation Engineers face is ensuring consistent accuracy and quality in labeling large and often complex datasets. Attention to detail is critical, as even small errors can significantly affect machine learning model performance. Additionally, engineers must frequently adapt to evolving annotation guidelines and emerging data types, which requires ongoing learning and flexibility. Collaboration with data scientists and project managers is common to clarify requirements and resolve ambiguities, making strong communication skills essential for success.
What job categories do people searching Data Annotation Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Data Annotation Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Data Annotation Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Data Annotation Engineer job openings:
Infographic showing various Data Annotation Engineer job openings in California as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 33% Full Time, and 67% Contract. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $145,530 per year, or $70 per hour.
Senior/Staff Software Engineer, ML Data Infrastructure

Senior/Staff Software Engineer, ML Data Infrastructure

Nuro

Mountain View, CA • On-site

$193.93K - $352.29K/yr

Full-time

Posted 11 hours ago


Job description

Who We Are
Nuro is a self-driving technology company on a mission to make autonomy accessible to all. Founded in 2016, Nuro is building the world's most scalable driver, combining cutting-edge AI with automotive-grade hardware. Nuro licenses its core technology, the Nuro Driver™, to support a wide range of applications, from robotaxis and commercial fleets to personally owned vehicles. With technology proven over years of self-driving deployments, Nuro gives the automakers and mobility platforms a clear path to AVs at commercial scale-empowering a safer, richer, and more connected future.
About the Role
Nuro takes a machine-learning-first approach to autonomous driving technology. In an ML-first system, the overall system performance depends heavily on the quantity and diversity of its training and evaluation data.
The team plays a crucial role in the advancement of autonomous driving systems by creating a scalable and reliable data infrastructure. This infrastructure is designed to produce training and evaluation data derived from both on-road collected logs and simulation logs. Additionally, the team collaborates closely with system engineers to thoroughly validate the autonomous driving system before its deployment.
About the Work
  • Design and develop unified, introspectable, large-scale batch and streaming data pipelines that can ingest and process data across a wide range of use cases relevant to evaluation.
  • Create and implement a storage system capable of accommodating both the large volume and diverse range of evaluation and performance metrics.
  • Construct intuitive dashboards and reports to present evaluation results, facilitating straightforward comparisons that highlight both improvements and regressions of the ML components and the overall system.
  • Develop and maintain continuous testing and monitoring systems to guarantee the integrity and resilience of our data and associated data pipelines.
  • Develop data mining tools with applied ML techniques to support data discovery needs from Autonomy including Perception, Behavior, and Mapping
  • Develop data annotation tools to support first-party and third-party labeling workforce to provide high fidelity perception, mapping, and driving trajectory labels
  • Scale data annotation labels with applied State-of-the-art ML techniques

About You
  • You have a degree in BS, MS.c or Ph.D, plus 4 years of relevant work experience
  • Strong proficiency in Python or similar languages
  • Domain experience: Experience working with large-scale data and building scalable & reliable systems/data pipelines; ability to understand and design complex systems
  • Engineering leadership: Experience setting team or project product and technical vision, timelines, and prioritization; being a Technical Lead, mentoring and support junior engineers
  • Technical excellence: Ability and willingness to deep dive into implementation, driving technical standards and best practices across broader software organization
  • A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field

Bonus Points
  • Strong proficiency in C++ or other high-performance low-level languages
  • Strong knowledge of GCP, GCS, BigQuery, or PostgreSQL
  • Knowledge of data engineering, and its tooling and best practices
  • Knowledge of batch and streaming data processing, warehousing, and analytics solutions
  • Experience working with large-scale distributed data systems
  • Experience with system & framework design
  • Experience with data workflow orchestration platforms

At Nuro, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. For this position, the reasonably expected pay range is between $193,930 and $352,290 for the level at which this job has been scoped. Your base pay will depend on several factors, including your experience, qualifications, education, location, and skills. In the event that you are considered for a different level, a higher or lower pay range would apply. This position is also eligible for an annual performance bonus, equity, and a competitive benefits package.
At Nuro, we celebrate differences and are committed to a diverse workplace that fosters inclusion and psychological safety for all employees. Nuro is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and expressly prohibits any form of workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics.