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Director Of Software Engineering Jobs in Alameda, CA

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Head of Software Engineering

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$298.10K/yr

Bring joy to the team, participate in embarrassing team events, tolerate KZ's terrible music choices Basic Qualifications * 10+ years' experience in professional software engineering * 5+ years of ...

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$157.5K

$287.9K

How much do director of software engineering jobs pay per year?

As of May 28, 2026, the average yearly pay for director of software engineering in Alameda, CA is $276,446.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $286,700.00 and $286,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What Does a Director of Software Engineering Do?

As a director of software engineering, your responsibilities are to oversee the daily operations of the software engineering department and the long-term application of strategic planning for the department. You are ultimately responsible for creating policies and objectives for the department in collaboration with other director-level positions in the company. You are also heavily involved in the department’s finances and project management, and you often oversee multiple projects. At larger companies, you may have fewer technical duties, but for small and mid-sized companies, you may code or provide technical and managerial expertise on specific projects.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Director of Software Engineering, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Director of Software Engineering, you need deep technical expertise in software development, proven leadership experience, and a relevant degree such as in computer science or engineering. Familiarity with agile methodologies, cloud platforms, project management tools (like Jira), and experience with architectural frameworks are typically required. Outstanding communication, strategic thinking, and the ability to mentor and motivate teams are vital soft skills in this role. These skills ensure effective project delivery, foster innovation, and build high-performing teams aligned with organizational goals.

What are some common challenges faced by a Director of Software Engineering when managing cross-functional teams?

A Director of Software Engineering often manages teams composed of engineers, product managers, and designers, which can present challenges in aligning priorities and communication styles. Balancing the technical needs of the engineering team with broader business objectives requires clear communication and strong leadership. Additionally, adapting to rapidly changing technology while ensuring consistent delivery and maintaining team morale is a key challenge. Proactive stakeholder management and fostering a culture of collaboration are essential for success in this role.

What engineering jobs pay $500,000?

Senior engineering roles such as Director of Software Engineering, Principal Engineer, or VP of Engineering can reach or exceed $500,000 in total compensation, especially in high-cost living areas or large tech companies. These positions often require extensive experience, leadership skills, and expertise in areas like cloud computing, software architecture, or technical management.

What is the difference between Director Of Software Engineering vs Software Development Manager?

AspectDirector Of Software EngineeringSoftware Development Manager
ResponsibilitiesOversees multiple teams, sets strategic goals, manages budgets, and aligns software projects with business objectives.Manages day-to-day software development teams, ensures project delivery, and coordinates technical tasks.
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master’s in Computer Science or related field, extensive experience in software development, leadership skills.Bachelor's in Computer Science or related field, strong technical background, experience managing development teams.
Work EnvironmentStrategic, cross-team collaboration, executive communication, often in larger organizations.Technical focus, project management, direct team oversight, often in mid-sized companies.

The main difference is that the Director Of Software Engineering focuses on strategic leadership and organizational oversight, while the Software Development Manager handles daily team management and project execution. Both roles require technical expertise and leadership skills, but the director role involves broader business alignment and higher-level decision-making.

More about Director Of Software Engineering jobs
What job categories do people searching Director Of Software Engineering jobs in Alameda, CA look for? The top searched job categories for Director Of Software Engineering jobs in Alameda, CA are:
What cities near Alameda, CA are hiring for Director Of Software Engineering jobs? Cities near Alameda, CA with the most Director Of Software Engineering job openings:
Director Of Software Engineering jobs near you
Infographic showing various Director Of Software Engineering job openings in Alameda, CA as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 76% Full Time, 23% Part Time, and 1% Temporary. Highlights an 99% Physical, and 1% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $276,446 per year, or $132.9 per hour.
Director of Software Engineering

Director of Software Engineering

Mainspring Energy

Menlo Park, CA • On-site

$212.50K - $250K/yr

Other

Posted 10 days ago

Job description

Company Overview
Mainspring Energy is revolutionizing power generation with the world's most flexible and adaptable local power generation technology, the Mainspring Linear Generator. Commercial, industrial, and utility leaders are choosing Mainspring over traditional options like engines, turbines, and fuel cells to quickly and reliably deliver local power for EV charging, commercial facilities, data centers, and grid-scale operations.
The Mainspring Linear Generator is fuel flexible, ramps up and down to meet demand, and utilizes a flameless reaction with near-zero NOx emissions. Backed by top-tier investors including Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, American Electric Power, Lightrock, and General Catalyst Mainspring designs, manufactures and delivers its products to customers across the U.S. today, and we're quickly scaling for international expansion.
Inspired by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid, Mainspring is rapidly expanding within the $816B global electricity equipment market, and we're hiring the best talent to meet growing customer demand around the globe. We welcome a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and talents to bring fresh perspectives and ongoing innovation to our customers.
We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values:
Pragmatic Optimism. Building a new category of world-class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently. The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth.
Excellence without Ego. We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world-class products. We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors.
Proactive Collaboration. The integration and cross-disciplinary nature of Mainspring's business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities. Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers.
More information can be found at www.mainspringenergy.com
Director of Software Engineering - Lead the Digital Backbone of Distributed Energy
Mainspring Energy is reinventing distributed power generation with our Linear Generator - a fuel-flexible, ultra-low emissions platform delivering resilient, on-site power for commercial, industrial, and utility customers.
Now we're scaling our fleet.
We're looking for the right leader to own the cloud-to-field software ecosystem that powers, monitors, and optimizes our distributed energy assets. This is a rare opportunity to unify cloud, data, DevOps, and fleet software under one technical vision - and scale a platform that directly enables the energy transition.
This is not a SaaS role.
This is industrial-grade, uptime-critical, hardware-connected software.
You will lead the team building systems that:
  • Ingest and process real-time telemetry from thousands of generators
  • Enable secure remote monitoring, diagnostics, and control
  • Power predictive maintenance and fleet analytics
  • Maintain a scalable "single source of truth" data platform
  • Govern DevSecOps and release management across R&D, manufacturing, and field deployments
  • When our software works, customers stay powered. When it doesn't, the stakes are real.

Qualifications
  • You are a systems thinker who understands that software decisions impact physical infrastructure.
  • 10+ years in software engineering, including 5+ years in senior leadership
  • Experience in Industrial IoT, energy systems, industrial automation, or fleet-scale device platforms
  • Ownership of device-to-cloud architectures and large telemetry pipelines
  • Deep experience with AWS, GCP, or Azure
  • Expertise in distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Spark)
  • Experience leading DevSecOps and secure remote control systems
  • A reliability-first mindset - 99% uptime isn't good enough
  • Proven track record of embedding AI into engineering workflows and product architecture - driving measurable gains in developer productivity, system reliability, data insight generation, and autonomous fleet optimization

$212,500 - $250,000 a year
This position is onsite at our Menlo Park HQ. The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee. Along with the base salary, Mainspring offers pre-IPO stock options + benefits.
Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement. At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don't meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we'd still love to hear from you. Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.
In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
This compensation and benefits information is based on Mainspring Energy's estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. We generally do not negotiate on salary once we have made an offer. The level of pay within the range will depend on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant prior experience and/or education, or particular skills and expertise. New hires joining the company tend to be paid within the starting base pay range noted above, with opportunities to increase pay over time based on development of additional skills, competencies, and company-specific knowledge.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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