1

Junior Engineering Manager Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

We need an Engineering Manager who is a true collaborative partner: someone who excels at mentoring junior developers, recruiting senior talent, maintaining a culture of high technical craft, and ...

We need an Engineering Manager who is a true collaborative partner: someone who excels at mentoring junior developers, recruiting senior talent, maintaining a culture of high technical craft, and ...

We need an Engineering Manager who is a true collaborative partner: someone who excels at mentoring junior developers, recruiting senior talent, maintaining a culture of high technical craft, and ...

They are seeking an Engineering Manager to lead their engineering team, mentor junior developers, and collaborate with clinical leadership to tackle significant healthcare challenges.

... junior engineers to unblock them, and actively recruiting top-tier Senior and Staff engineers to ... You will manage a team with a diverse mix of experience levels. Your job is to provide crystal ...

... junior engineers to unblock them, and actively recruiting top-tier Senior and Staff engineers to ... You will manage a team with a diverse mix of experience levels. Your job is to provide crystal ...

... junior engineers through their journey to become better. Responsibilities * Interface closely with product management, machine learning, QA, and sales teams to build roadmap in supporting the ...

Engineering Manager

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$160K - $250K/yr

... junior engineers through their journey to become better. Responsibilities * Interface closely with product management, machine learning, QA, and sales teams to build roadmap in supporting the ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

Junior Engineering Manager information

See California salary details

$18.8K

$51.8K

$86.8K

How much do junior engineering manager jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 8, 2026, the average yearly pay for junior engineering manager in California is $51,775.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $35,500.00 and $56,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a junior engineering manager?

Junior Engineering Managers are early-career professionals who oversee engineering teams or projects, typically under the guidance of more senior managers. They are responsible for coordinating tasks, supporting team members, and ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget. In addition to technical knowledge, Junior Engineering Managers need strong communication and leadership skills to bridge the gap between engineers and upper management. This role is often a stepping stone to more senior management positions within engineering organizations.

What does a junior engineering manager get paid?

The average salary for a junior engineering manager typically ranges from $70,000 to $100,000 annually, depending on the industry, location, and company size. Entry-level managers in engineering often have 1-3 years of experience and may earn additional compensation through bonuses or benefits.

What are some common challenges faced by junior engineering managers when transitioning from individual contributor roles?

Junior Engineering Managers often find the transition from individual contributor to management challenging, particularly when it comes to balancing technical responsibilities with new leadership duties. They must learn to delegate tasks effectively, provide constructive feedback, and support team members' growth while still staying involved in technical discussions. Building trust within the team and managing time across meetings, planning, and hands-on work are also frequent hurdles. Embracing a mindset shift from personal achievement to team success is key for thriving in this role.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a junior engineering manager?

To thrive as a Junior Engineering Manager, you need a solid background in engineering principles, project management, and team leadership, often supported by a relevant degree and some managerial experience. Familiarity with agile methodologies, project tracking tools like Jira or Trello, and basic budgeting software is typically expected. Strong communication, problem-solving abilities, and the capacity to motivate and mentor team members are standout soft skills. These competencies are crucial for delivering successful projects, fostering team growth, and ensuring efficient workflow in an engineering environment.

What is the difference between Junior Engineering Manager vs Software Engineer?

AspectJunior Engineering ManagerSoftware Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's degree in engineering or related field; some leadership trainingBachelor's degree in computer science or related field
Work EnvironmentTeam leadership, project coordination, cross-functional collaborationCoding, debugging, developing software applications
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, engineering firms, startupsTech companies, software development firms, startups
Common Search & ComparisonOften compared for career progression, leadership rolesCompared for technical skills, coding expertise

The Junior Engineering Manager typically oversees engineering teams, manages projects, and coordinates between departments, requiring leadership skills and some management training. In contrast, a Software Engineer focuses on coding, developing software, and technical problem-solving. While both roles are common in tech industries, they serve different functions and career paths.

What are the most commonly searched types of Engineering Manager jobs in California? The most popular types of Engineering Manager jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Junior Engineering Manager jobs in California? For Junior Engineering Manager jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Junior Engineering Manager jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Junior Engineering Manager jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Junior Engineering Manager jobs? Cities in California with the most Junior Engineering Manager job openings:
Infographic showing various Junior Engineering Manager job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $51,775 per year, or $24.9 per hour.

Engineering Manager

Mochi Health

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Full-time

Medical, PTO

Re-posted 11 days ago


Job description

Healthcare is broken at the first step: patients can't find the right care, understand what it costs, or access the medications they need. Mochi Health is fixing this.
We're building an AI-driven marketplace that makes healthcare discoverable-connecting patients to the right providers, transparent pharmacy pricing, and affordable medications. Over the past few years, we've grown rapidly by combining clinical expertise with technology that actually works for real people, not just hospital systems.
Our platform does what legacy healthcare can't: it gives patients transparent pricing before they pay, personalized medication management that follows them across providers, and long-term access to their own medical records. We're proving that healthcare can be more affordable, more human, and far more intuitive than what exists today.
Join a team that's rebuilding healthcare from the patient up. At Mochi Health, you'll work alongside people who value bold thinking, inclusive collaboration, and getting meaningful work into the world. If you want to do the most impactful work of your career, this is where to do it.
Engineering Manager
Location: San Francisco, CA (5 days/week onsite)
About The Role At Mochi, our engineering team operates with exceptional leverage. We believe in high talent density, where a focused, pragmatic team powers a profitable, nine-figure ARR healthcare platform serving hundreds of thousands of patients. We are looking for an Engineering Manager to help us scale, align, and unblock this organization.
Mochi has already helped patients lose over 5 million pounds through metabolic care, and we are now rapidly expanding into the frontiers of preventative healthcare. To support this growth, we are actively leveling up our engineering maturity-pairing our ambitious, early-career engineers with incoming Senior and Staff-level talent to build our next generation of clinical systems.
At Mochi, engineering is deeply integrated with our clinical and operational teams. We do not operate in silos. We need an Engineering Manager who is a true collaborative partner: someone who excels at mentoring junior developers, recruiting senior talent, maintaining a culture of high technical craft, and working directly with clinical leadership to co-design solutions for massive healthcare challenges. If you are a deeply technical leader who meets engineers where they are and cares profoundly about patient outcomes, this is the role.
What You'll Do
  • Mentor and Scale the Team: You will be a hands-on technical leader who takes deep pride in team growth. While you won't be on the critical path for daily feature delivery, you will be in the codebase-reviewing PRs, pairing with junior engineers to unblock them, and actively recruiting top-tier Senior and Staff engineers to raise the team's overall technical ceiling.
  • Drive Alignment & Velocity: You will manage a team with a diverse mix of experience levels. Your job is to provide crystal-clear business context, ensure technical efforts are perfectly aligned with the product roadmap, and proactively clear organizational roadblocks to maintain relentless shipping velocity.
  • Co-Design the Clinical Product: You will partner deeply with Operations, Product, and Clinical leadership. You will act as a collaborative translation layer-distilling complex medical realities and regulatory workflows into clear, pragmatic technical roadmaps for your team.
  • Elevate the Craft & Govern AI: Mochi is an AI-first engineering org where developers utilize frontier agentic models (e.g., Codex 5.3, Claude Opus 4.6) daily. You will manage the risks of this high-speed environment, ensuring AI-assisted output is rigorously audited for edge cases, performance bottlenecks, and HIPAA compliance, maintaining deep pride in the quality of the systems we build.
  • Foster a High-Ownership Culture: You will ensure context is shared fluidly across the entire platform. Through direct feedback, empathetic mentorship, and clear performance management, you will cultivate a team of low-ego, versatile builders who care deeply about patient outcomes.

Who You Are
  • You are a pragmatic team builder and mentor. You have a track record of identifying and recruiting top engineering talent, but you are equally passionate about coaching early-career developers and taking them to the next level. Engineers you have managed in the past actively want to work for you again.
  • You have immense technical credibility. You are a former Senior or Staff engineer who has built and operated high-stakes distributed systems. You can read complex codebases, audit architectures, and command the technical respect of your team.
  • You possess deep product sense. You have 2+ years of formal engineering management experience. You care just as much about the user experience, clinical workflows, and business outcomes as you do about the underlying infrastructure.
  • You navigate domain complexity. You have managed teams in highly regulated, operationally heavy industries (e.g., healthcare, fintech, logistics) where failures have real-world consequences.
  • You manage through context, not control. You thrive on giving your engineers autonomy tailored to their experience level. You set the business goals, define the architectural guardrails, and empower your team to own the execution.
  • You are a collaborative partner. You have low ego, high standards, and excellent cross-functional communication skills. You know how to collaborate with non-technical stakeholders to build shared solutions.
  • You are excited to work in-person. You want to build and lead your team on the floor, 5 days a week in our San Francisco office.

Our Process
We respect your time. Here is exactly what to expect:
  • Intro call (30 min, remote) - Chat with our recruiter about the role and expectations.
  • Leadership screen (45 min, remote) - Discuss your management philosophy, coaching experience, and mutual fit with the Head of Engineering.
  • Technical & Architecture round (2.5 hrs, remote) - Deep-dive system design conversation and architectural review. Real domain problems, assessing how you guide technical decisions and evaluate tradeoffs.
  • Team meet (2 hrs 15 mins, on-site) - Come to our SF office to meet the engineers you will be leading and supporting, alongside cross-functional partners and executive leadership for 30-minute 1:1s, concluding with a quick recruiter wrap-up.

We are ready to move as fast as you are. Total interview time is ~6 hours. We can go from the first intro to offer in two weeks, or pace the rounds to comfortably fit your current work schedule.
Life at Mochi Health
Time to Recharge -Enjoy unlimited PTO, generous company holidays, and true flexibility. We trust you to take the time you need to rest, reset, and thrive
Wellness First -From weekly mindfulness sessions to group workouts and fitness perks, your physical and mental health are top priority
Team Socials and Community - We make time to connect through regular socials, happy hours, and spontaneous events. Our stocked kitchen doesn't hurt either
Downtown SF HQ - Our San Francisco office is just steps from BART, Muni, and great food. It's designed for deep work and casual collaboration
The base salary for this full-time position ranges from $280,000-$350,000, in addition to compelling equity and benefits. The salary range listed in each job posting represents the minimum and maximum targets for new hire salaries across all locations. Actual compensation within this range is determined by various factors, such as job-related skills, experience, relevant education or training, and location.
Workplace Policy
Mochi Health is an in-person company based in San Francisco, CA. Our team works together in person five days a week to foster collaboration, innovation, and strong connections. We believe that face-to-face interaction builds a culture of excellence and allows us to deliver the best outcomes for the patients and providers we serve.
Equal Opportunity
Mochi Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We make all employment decisions based solely on merit. We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, disability status, or any other applicable legally protected characteristic. We prohibit any form of discrimination or harassment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring.
Candidate Privacy Notice
Please review Mochi Health's Candidate Privacy Notice here.
Accommodations
Mochi Health complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act, and all applicable state or local laws. We will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability during the application process and throughout employment as required by law.
If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please contact us at hr@joinmochi.com.