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Network Research Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

San Mateo, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

Fremont, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

Santa Rosa, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

Alameda, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

Hayward, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

Sonoma, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

Acceler8 Talent

Research Engineer

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$300K/yr

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence 📍 San Francisco | Onsite I'm working with a highly ... Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors. This is an ...

SuperAnnotate AI

Research Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$180K - $280K/yr

Our global network of expert specialists, scalable managed operations, precise talent matching, and ... As a Research Engineer, you'll take a research direction and run with it - finding the right papers ...

SuperAnnotate AI

Research Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$180K - $250K/yr

Our global network of expert specialists, scalable managed operations, precise talent matching, and ... As a Research Engineer, you'll take a research direction and run with it - finding the right papers ...

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Network Research Engineer information

What is a network research engineer?

A Network Research Engineer is a professional who designs, develops, and tests new network technologies and protocols. They work on improving network performance, security, scalability, and reliability, often collaborating with academic, industry, or government research teams. Their responsibilities may include conducting experiments, analyzing data, and publishing findings to advance the field of networking. They typically have a strong background in computer science or electrical engineering and stay updated on the latest advancements in networking technologies.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a network research engineer?

To thrive as a Network Research Engineer, you need a strong background in computer networking, network protocols, and advanced problem-solving skills, usually supported by a degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or a related field. Familiarity with network simulation tools (such as NS-3 or GNS3), programming languages (like Python or C++), and relevant certifications (such as CCNA or CCNP) is often required. Strong analytical thinking, effective communication, and teamwork skills help set professionals apart in collaborative research environments. These skills are vital for innovating and developing cutting-edge network solutions that address complex technical challenges.

What are some typical challenges faced by network research engineers when working on experimental networking projects?

Network Research Engineers often encounter challenges such as integrating novel protocols with existing network infrastructure, balancing innovation with stability, and validating experimental solutions in real-world environments. Collaborating with cross-functional teams—including software developers, hardware engineers, and academic researchers—can also present coordination hurdles, especially when timelines and goals differ. Overcoming these challenges requires strong troubleshooting skills, adaptability, and effective communication to ensure research outcomes are both practical and scalable.

What is the difference between Network Research Engineer vs Network Engineer?

AspectNetwork Research EngineerNetwork Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field; certifications like Cisco CCNA or CCNPBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related; certifications like Cisco CCNA or CCNP
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, R&D departments, academic settings, or corporate innovation teamsNetwork operation centers, IT departments, or enterprise network teams
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, research institutions, universities, and R&D divisions of telecom firmsTelecom providers, large corporations, IT service providers, and enterprise networks

While both roles require similar educational backgrounds and certifications, a Network Research Engineer focuses on developing new networking technologies and conducting research, often in labs or academic settings. In contrast, a Network Engineer implements, maintains, and troubleshoots existing network infrastructure within organizations. The roles are complementary but differ mainly in their focus on innovation versus operational support.

What cities in California are hiring for Network Research Engineer jobs?

Cities in California with the most Network Research Engineer job openings:

Infographic showing various Network Research Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 80% Full Time, 13% Part Time, and 6% Contract. Highlights an 92% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution.

Research Engineer

San Jose, CA • On-site

Acceler8 Talent
See more jobs at Acceler8 Talentexternal

$300K/yr

Other

Re-posted 9 days ago

Job description

Founding Research Engineer - AI & Defence


📍 San Francisco | Onsite


I’m working with a highly ambitious defense AI startup building technology to detect and conduct a novel class of AI-powered cyber operation. This is not conventional cybersecurity, vulnerability research or zero-day hunting.


The technical challenge sits much closer to elite quantitative research, market microstructure and applied machine learning.


You’ll work with petabyte-scale, multimodal time-series data refreshing in under one second, helping build the full prediction and learning stack:


→ Stream and capture continuously refreshing data at scale

→ Convert noisy, often ungrounded signals into useful representations

→ Model the future behaviour of actors within complex environments

→ Combine classical statistical methods with deep learning and transformers

→ Build agents that learn new strategies from sparse, long-horizon reward signals

→ Shape the technical direction of the company as an early engineering hire


The strongest candidates will be highly quantitative, empirically minded and comfortable working on ambiguous research problems. You may currently be a Quantitative Researcher or Quantitative Developer within a top systematic trading environment.


Relevant backgrounds could also include:


• Systematic trading and market microstructure

• Applied mathematics or statistics

• Signal processing

• Machine learning and sequential modelling

• Computational social science

• Intelligence or national-security technology


Prior cybersecurity experience is not required.


The company is already revenue-generating, has more than 18 months of runway and is backed by leading seed investors. The founding team has built and exited multiple companies, collectively returning more than $1B to investors.


Its advisory network includes senior military leaders and former White House advisors.

This is an opportunity to join a small, high-agency team working on problems with direct defense and intelligence relevance, where the earliest hires will influence both the core technology and how it is deployed.


Base salaries up to $300k + Significant equity for founding Engineers


No export controls, but you will need to either be a Green Card holder or US citizen to apply.


Apply to Ethan to find out more

elewis@acceler8talent.com

Apply