ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Engineering Leader Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Serval Inc

Engineering Leadership

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$250K - $400K/yr

Role Overview As an engineering leader at Serval, you'll help shape the technical direction of our platform and build the team that delivers it. This is a senior leadership role with significant ...

Serval, Inc.

Engineering Leadership

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$210 - $320/hr

Role Overview As an engineering leader at Serval, you'll help shape the technical direction of our platform and build the team that delivers it. This is a senior leadership role with significant ...

Hinge Health

Engineering Manager, GI

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$180 - $260/hr

The Opportunity Hinge Health is the leader in Digital Physical Therapy, and we're expanding into ... As the Engineering Manager for GI, you'll build an understanding for the 60M+ Americans afflicted ...

Orkes

Engineering Manager

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

They are seeking a strong engineering leader to own the Cloud & Platform engineering function, leading engineers while remaining hands-on in architecture and production challenges. Responsibilities ...

Hinge Health, Inc

Engineering Manager, GI

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$212K - $318K/yr

The Opportunity Hinge Health is the leader in Digital Physical Therapy, and we're expanding into ... As the Engineering Manager for GI, you'll build an understanding for the 60M+ Americans afflicted ...

Orkes

Engineering Manager

Cupertino, CA · On-site

They are seeking a strong engineering leader to own the Cloud & Platform engineering function, focusing on leading a team while remaining hands-on with architecture and production challenges.

previous page

Showing results 41-60

All JobsEngineering Leader JobsEngineering Leader Jobs in California

Engineering Leader information

See California salary details

$41.9K

$122.2K

$178.1K

How much do engineering leader jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 21, 2026, the average yearly pay for engineering leader 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 is the difference between Engineering Leader vs Software Engineer?

AspectEngineering LeaderSoftware Engineer
CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Engineering, Management experience often preferredBachelor's or Master's in Computer Science or related field
Work EnvironmentLeads teams, manages projects, collaborates with stakeholdersDevelops code, tests software, follows technical specifications
Employer & Industry UsageUsed in tech companies, engineering firms, startupsCommon across tech, finance, healthcare, and other industries

Engineering Leaders focus on managing teams, strategic planning, and project oversight, while Software Engineers concentrate on coding, developing, and testing software. Both roles are essential in tech organizations, but they differ significantly in responsibilities and scope.

What careers can engineering leaders lead to?

Engineering leaders can advance to executive roles such as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Vice President of Engineering, or Director of Engineering. They often transition into roles involving strategic planning, product management, or technical consulting, leveraging their leadership and technical expertise to guide organizational growth and innovation.

What is the hierarchy of engineering leader positions?

The hierarchy of engineering leader positions typically starts with Engineering Manager, followed by Senior Engineering Manager, Director of Engineering, Vice President of Engineering, and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Each level involves increasing responsibility for team management, strategic planning, and technical oversight, often requiring relevant experience and leadership skills.

What is the role of an engineering leader?

An engineering leader oversees technical teams, manages project execution, and aligns engineering efforts with organizational goals. They provide technical guidance, facilitate collaboration, and often have skills in project management and engineering best practices to ensure successful delivery of products or systems.

What cities in California are hiring for Engineering Leader jobs?

Cities in California with the most Engineering Leader job openings:

Infographic showing various Engineering Leader job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 83% Full Time, 12% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 93% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 4% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $122,163 per year, or $58.7 per hour.

Engineering Leadership

Serval Inc

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$250K - $400K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 12 days ago

Job description

Who We Are
Serval is an AI-native automation platform transforming how enterprises operate. We build intelligent agents that understand real-world workflows and execute them end-to-end - replacing manual processes and rigid legacy systems with adaptive, learning software. Founded in early 2024, Serval is already trusted by companies like Fox, Notion, Perplexity, Vercel, and Brex to automate high-volume, high-friction operational work across their organizations.
At the core of Serval is an agentic AI platform that turns natural language into production-grade workflows. Our agents don't just respond to requests - they reason, take action across systems, and continuously improve with usage. What began with operational use cases has quickly evolved into a horizontal AI automation layer used across IT, HR, Finance, Security, Legal, and Engineering.
Our mission is to eliminate repetitive, manual work across the enterprise and give teams leverage through intelligent automation. Long term, we're building the universal AI operations layer - a system of agents that sits across business functions and runs the workflows that keep modern companies moving.
We're backed by leading investors including Sequoia Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Meritech, First Round, General Catalyst, Elad Gil, and others.
Role Overview
As an engineering leader at Serval, you'll help shape the technical direction of our platform and build the team that delivers it. This is a senior leadership role with significant ownership - you'll sit at the intersection of technical strategy and organizational execution, accountable for both what we build and how we build it. You'll have real influence over architecture decisions, hiring strategy, and the engineering culture we build from here.
You'll partner closely with our CTO and CEO to translate roadmap into reality and drive engineering excellence across the organization. Serval is at an inflection point - strong product-market fit, a growing customer base, and an ambitious roadmap ahead. We want a leader who is close to the work, close to the team, and invested in getting the details right.
What You'll Do
  • Partner with CTO an CEO to define Serval's engineering strategy, architecture direction, and execution plan
  • Lead, hire, and develop an exceptional engineering team - creating the structure, processes, and culture needed to scale
  • Own delivery of the engineering roadmap, ensuring projects ship on time with high quality and clear accountability
  • Set and uphold engineering best practices across code quality, testing, reliability, security, and incident response
  • Build strong cross-functional operating rhythms with cross-functional teams to ensure excellent execution and a great user experience
  • Establish metrics and systems for engineering effectiveness: planning, estimation, on-call, retrospectives, and technical debt management
  • Drive continuous improvement of platform performance, scalability, and maintainability as usage grows

What You'll Need
  • 8+ years of software engineering experience, including meaningful time leading teams in an engineering leadership capacity.
  • Proven ability to build and scale engineering teams in a fast-moving environment.
  • Strong technical foundation and architectural judgment, with hands-on experience shipping and operating production systems.
  • Experience partnering cross-functionally and translating product goals into clear technical plans and execution.
  • High standards for engineering excellence: reliability, security, and developer velocity.
  • Exceptional communication skills and a track record of leading through ambiguity.
  • Degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Nice to Have
  • Early-stage startup experience.
  • Experience with some of the technologies in our stack: Go, GRPC, Kubernetes, React, Typescript, AWS, and Terraform.
  • Experience building AI-enabled product features (even if not an AI/ML specialist role).

What We Offer
  • Impact: Be a key player in shaping the success of our product and company.
  • Growth: Build a fundamentally new AI product offering with the support of our experienced team and investors. Grow rapidly with the company.
  • Culture: Join a culture that values innovation, ownership, accountability, and fun.

Apply