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Distributed Systems Software Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Xoriant Corporation

Systems Software Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$202K - $240K/yr

Systems Software Engineer Location: San Jose, CA (Onsite) Duration: 6+ months contract Role and Responsibilities As a Senior System Software Engineer, you will join the GPU Software Validation team ...

Apple

Systems Software Engineer

San Diego, CA

$122K - $214K/yr

... debugging distributed applications Experience debugging at all levels of an operating system ... of software engineer career experience Expertise in at least one of C++/Objective-C/Swift ...

Apple

System Software Engineer

Seattle, WA

$175K - $263K/yr

Knowledge of distributed systems, cloud computing, and large-scale data center infrastructure is a ... Minimum Qualifications 4+ years of software engineering experience Proficiency in one of C/C++, Obj ...

Sunday Inc

Systems Software Engineer

Redwood City, CA · On-site

$211K - $251K/yr

As a System Software Engineer, you'll focus on the runtime itself which encompasses the IPC layer ... Experience building observability or tracing infrastructure for distributed or multi-process ...

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Distributed Systems Software Engineer information

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$83K

$177.7K

$206K

How much do distributed systems software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 23, 2026, the average yearly pay for distributed systems software engineer in the United States is $177,719.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $173,000.00 and $205,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Distributed Systems Software Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Distributed Systems Software Engineer, you need strong programming skills (often in languages like Java, Go, or C++), a deep understanding of algorithms, networking, and distributed computing concepts, typically supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with tools and frameworks such as Kubernetes, Apache Kafka, Docker, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) is highly valued, as are certifications in cloud or devops technologies. Excellent problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills help you design scalable solutions and collaborate across teams. These skills are crucial for building reliable, efficient, and scalable distributed systems that power modern applications and services.

What is the difference between Distributed Systems Software Engineer vs Cloud Software Engineer?

AspectDistributed Systems Software EngineerCloud Software Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's in CS or related, experience with distributed architecturesBachelor's in CS, experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure)
Work EnvironmentDevelops scalable distributed applications, often in data centers or on-premisesBuilds and maintains cloud-based solutions, deploying on cloud platforms
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, data centers, distributed computing firmsCloud service providers, SaaS companies, enterprises adopting cloud
Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding roles in distributed architectureComparing cloud-focused development roles

While both roles involve building scalable software, a Distributed Systems Software Engineer focuses on designing and implementing distributed architectures, whereas a Cloud Software Engineer specializes in deploying and managing applications on cloud platforms. The roles often overlap but differ mainly in their environment and specific technical focus.

What are the typical challenges faced by Distributed Systems Software Engineers when ensuring system reliability?

Distributed Systems Software Engineers often encounter challenges like handling network partitioning, ensuring data consistency across nodes, and effectively managing system failures. They need to design resilient architectures that can recover gracefully when components fail, and implement robust monitoring to detect issues early. Collaborating closely with DevOps, QA, and other engineering teams is crucial to address these challenges and maintain high availability and performance in complex, distributed environments.

What are Distributed Systems Software Engineers?

Distributed Systems Software Engineers are professionals who design, develop, and maintain software that runs across multiple computers or servers, working together to achieve a common goal. They build systems that are reliable, scalable, and efficient, often handling large volumes of data and user requests. Their work involves solving challenges related to network communication, data consistency, fault tolerance, and system coordination. These engineers frequently use technologies like cloud computing platforms, message queues, and databases to ensure smooth operation across distributed environments.
More about Distributed Systems Software Engineer jobs
What cities are hiring for Distributed Systems Software Engineer jobs? Cities with the most Distributed Systems Software Engineer job openings:
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What job categories do people searching Distributed Systems Software Engineer jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Distributed Systems Software Engineer jobs are:
Distributed Systems Software Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Distributed Systems Software Engineer job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 98% Full Time, 1% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 94% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $177,719 per year, or $85.4 per hour.
Software Engineer - Distributed Systems, Compute Platform

Software Engineer - Distributed Systems, Compute Platform

Apple

Cupertino, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 6 days ago

Apple rating

8.0

Company rating: 8.0 out of 10

Based on 673 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

7th of 30 rated technology retailers

Job description

Our team is on a mission to build innovative infrastructure and tools to help other engineers be more productive and make software easier to create, build, and distribute. We believe that streamlining software engineering is an important part of unlocking developer creativity and innovation, and we love it when Apple customers see that in the products we ship. We are looking for distributed systems engineers to join our efforts.
Our team works on evolving a set of innovative distributed backend services and tools to deliver a high volume of functional, deterministic computations for various workloads.
We believe that every engineer brings unique skills and perspectives. Far more than any specific experience or skill, we are looking for engineers who want to build great reliable software and services, learn and develop their skills, and ultimately enable others to develop amazing applications. You would join a small, tight-knit group of engineers who build exciting new technology, and have fun while doing so.
Description
You'll be developing novel distributed architectures, products and services to accelerate software build, test, and deployment. If you enjoy working on distributed systems and delivering performance & reliability at scale, then we have many exciting problems for you to work on! You'll find ways to combine our unique problem domain with established distributed system techniques in order to achieve high performance, reliability, and long-term maintainability. You'll analyze problem requirements, existing solutions, and available systems and make high-level architectural decisions about how to design the backend, considering both medium and long-term goals. You will work alongside your team to implement them while developing appropriate testing and operational mechanisms. You will be most successful here as a flexible and proactive engineer who thrives in a supportive, respectful, and balanced work environment with interesting and challenging problems to tackle. You have excellent judgement and integrity with the ability to make timely and sound decisions. You know how to drive constructive discussion of design points, learn from your team, and use your experience to advocate and teach others.
Minimum Qualifications
Solid understanding of distributed software system fundamentals
Experience with high-performance, strongly typed languages such as: Swift, Rust, C++, Scala
Familiarity with caching, compilers, networking, and operating systems
Ability to efficiently develop, debug, and support new technologies in a changing environment
Strong interest in distributed systems, reliability, and performance
Preferred Qualifications
Familiarity with some large infrastructure systems like Kubernetes
Familiarity with CI/CD solutions like Jenkins
Familiarity with application and service monitoring tools and techniques
Experience with incident management and response

What Apple employees say

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Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom

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About Apple

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Imagine what you could do here! At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. Dynamic, intelligent people and inspiring, innovative technologies are the norm here. The people who work here have reinvented entire industries with all Apple Hardware products. The same real passion for innovation that goes into our products also applies to our practices strengthening our dedication to leave the world better than we found it.

Industry

Computer and electronic product manufacturing

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Cupertino, CA, US

Year founded

1976

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