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Engineering Lead Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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Fintech Engineering Lead

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$120K - $159K/yr

Role Description Year of Experience: 5+ Scope of Role We're seeking a Fintech Engineering Lead who has directly leverable B2C banking, stablecoin, or payments experience. This is a critically ...

Poesis

Engineering Lead, Agents

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$180K - $280K/yr

As the Agents Engineering Lead, you'll bring strong technical judgment and deep curiosity about what frontier models and harnesses make possible, translating emerging capabilities into production ...

E-Space

Avionics Engineering Lead

Saratoga, CA · On-site

$150K - $220K/yr

The Avionics Engineering Lead will oversee the development, test, and delivery of electronic hardware and FPGA firmware for E-Space satellites. The ideal candidate has 5+ years of Electrical ...

Peregrine

Applied AI Engineering Lead

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$120K - $159K/yr

The Applied AI Engineering Lead will own the application and operationalization of AI across the product, leading the development of AI-powered features to enhance decision-making in high-consequence ...

E-Space

Avionics Engineering Lead

Saratoga, CA

$150K - $220K/yr

The Avionics Engineering Lead will oversee the development, test, and delivery of electronic hardware and FPGA firmware for E-Space satellites. The ideal candidate has 5+ years of Electrical ...

E-Space

Avionics Engineering Lead

Saratoga, CA · On-site

$150K - $220K/yr

The Avionics Engineering Lead will oversee the development, test, and delivery of electronic hardware and FPGA firmware for E-Space satellites. The ideal candidate has 5+ years of Electrical ...

LA28 (Web)

Manager, Cloud Engineering Lead

Los Angeles, CA

$110K - $145K/yr

Manager, Cloud Engineering Lead The Manager, Cloud Engineering Lead focuses on cloud infrastructure (IaaS/PaaS) with an emphasis on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), backend integrations, and identity ...

25Eight LLC

Software Engineering Lead

San Francisco, CA · On-site

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer who will lead by example, write great code, solve difficult problems, set a high bar for the entire team, and help the team achieve excellence. You will build ...

SSA Marine

Principal Engineering Lead

Long Beach, CA · On-site

$200K - $250K/yr

The Principal Engineering Lead position is responsible for the overall engineering strategy, technical governance, and delivery of all engineering activities for the POLA (Port of Los Angeles) Cruise ...

Northwood

Security Engineering Lead

Torrance, CA · On-site

As the Security Engineering Lead, you will build and own corporate IT and security operations, overseeing day-to-day management while establishing a security monitoring foundation for mission ...

Viasat, Inc.

Hardware Engineering Lead

Carlsbad, CA · On-site

$193K - $290K/yr

What you'll need * 10+ years' experience with Hardware Engineering or related field * 5+ years' experience as a CAM, technical lead, or similar role, on EVMS programs * Experience with Configuration ...

SSA Marine

Principal Engineering Lead

Long Beach, CA

$200K - $250K/yr

The Principal Engineering Lead position is responsible for the overall engineering strategy, technical governance, and delivery of all engineering activities for the POLA (Port of Los Angeles) Cruise ...

Logos Space

Quality Engineering Lead

Mountain View, CA · On-site

$170K - $230K/yr

Position Summary & Responsibilities We are seeking an analytical and pragmatic Quality Engineering Lead to drive the quality strategy for our LEO satellite constellation, focusing on a high-rate ...

Promise

Software Engineering Lead

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$204K - $245K/yr

About the Role Promise is looking for an Engineering Lead to lead a high-performing engineering team, scaling our platform to meet the growing demand from cities, states, and utilities across the ...

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Showing results 41-60

All JobsEngineering Lead JobsEngineering Lead Jobs in California

Engineering Lead information

See California salary details

$41.9K

$122.2K

$178.1K

How much do engineering lead jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 10, 2026, the average yearly pay for engineering lead in California is $122,163.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $101,200.00 and $133,200.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What careers can an engineering lead lead to?

An engineering lead can advance to roles such as engineering manager, director of engineering, or chief technology officer, often requiring leadership skills, strategic planning, and technical expertise. They may also transition into product management, technical consulting, or executive positions within technology organizations.

What is the difference between Engineering Lead vs Software Engineer?

AspectEngineering LeadSoftware Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or higher in Engineering/Computer Science, leadership experienceBachelor's or higher in Computer Science or related field
Work EnvironmentLeads teams, manages projects, collaborates with stakeholdersDevelops software, writes code, tests applications
Employer & Industry UsageUsed in tech companies, startups, and large enterprisesCommon across all tech sectors and industries

The main difference is that an Engineering Lead oversees technical teams and project management, while a Software Engineer focuses on coding and software development. The Engineering Lead has leadership responsibilities, whereas the Software Engineer primarily contributes technical expertise.

What is an engineering lead?

Engineering Leads are experienced engineers who oversee technical teams within a company. They are responsible for guiding the team’s development processes, ensuring high-quality code, and aligning technical solutions with business goals. In addition to their technical expertise, Engineering Leads mentor team members, facilitate communication between stakeholders, and help prioritize project tasks. Their role often bridges the gap between engineering and management, making them crucial for successful project delivery.

How does an engineering lead balance hands-on technical work with team leadership responsibilities?

As an Engineering Lead, you'll often split your time between contributing to technical projects and overseeing your team's progress. While you'll still participate in code reviews, architectural decisions, and sometimes active development, a significant portion of your role involves mentoring team members, facilitating communication, and ensuring project milestones are met. Balancing these responsibilities requires strong time management skills and the ability to delegate effectively, so the team can thrive while you maintain technical oversight. This hybrid focus provides opportunities for both technical growth and leadership development.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an engineering lead, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Engineering Lead, you need a solid background in software development, project management, and a relevant technical degree or equivalent experience. Familiarity with version control systems like Git, agile project management tools (e.g., Jira), and cloud platforms is often required, along with certifications such as PMP or AWS Certified Solutions Architect. Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills help you guide teams and foster collaboration. These abilities are crucial for ensuring project success, technical excellence, and a productive, motivated engineering team.
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What are popular job titles related to Engineering Lead jobs in CA? For Engineering Lead jobs in CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
Engineering Lead jobs near you
Infographic showing various Engineering Lead job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 87% Full Time, 10% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 91% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $122,163 per year, or $58.7 per hour.

Fintech Engineering Lead

CM Search

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$120K - $159K/yr

Full-time

Posted 5 days ago

Job description

Our client is building a consumer finance app for emerging markets, in partnership with extremely large distribution partners. We are creating a joint virtual banking and cryptocurrency wallet that allows users all over the world to move seamlessly within our financial ecosystem.

Why now: stablecoins are changing cross-border payments. There is an opportunity to rebuild financial infrastructure for the 3 billion people who need better financial rails.

We're a small, senior-only team moving fast. We are well-funded with the ability to offer high cash compensation, based in SF, and led by proven founders with successful exits. Every hire shapes our product direction while we make Day 1 impact on global financial inclusion.

Role Description

Year of Experience: 5+

Scope of Role

We're seeking a Fintech Engineering Lead who has directly leverable B2C banking, stablecoin, or payments experience. This is a critically important role on our team. You'll be working with the technical founders to set standards that conform with industry engineering best practices and building a highly performant, reliable, and secure app from the ground up.

Our stack:

Python (FastAPI) monolith supported by Postgres and Redis on AWS. We are open to Rust and/or Go for any services that need to be broken out for performance.

Backend serves a REST API that powers our iOS, Android, and Web frontends. We are integrating with cryptocurrency wallet and banking service providers, among other services for auth, ledger, payment rails, etc.

This is a financial services application with significant complexity handling real money at scale, internationally.

MUST HAVE SKILLS

CANDIDATES MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH A GITHUB PROFILE

5+ years building and shipping fintech software with deep expertise in at least one of the following systems: ledgering, payments processing, stablecoin infra, risk/fraud management

Experience generally across the backend: working with Postgres, Redis, AWS, etc.

You might be an especially good fit if you have a Full-stack engineering skillset, with ability to flex across other parts of the stack