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Open Source Software Developer Jobs in California

Visa Hunt

Open Source Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$235K/yr

Open Source Engineer Firecrawl is looking for a high-agency engineer to own our open source work ... This is not a developer relations role. We want an engineer who ships the code, reviews the PRs ...

Firecrawl

Open Source Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$235K/yr

Open Source Engineer Firecrawl is looking for a high-agency engineer to own our open source work ... This is not a developer relations role. We want an engineer who ships the code, reviews the PRs ...

Firecrawl

Open Source Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$235K - $260K/yr

Open Source Engineer Firecrawl is looking for a high-agency engineer to own our open source work ... This is not a developer relations role. We want an engineer who ships the code, reviews the PRs ...

psudo

As a software developer, you'll be the brain behind crafting, developing, testing, going live and ... Experience with open-source projects. * Experience in designing interactive applications. * A ...

Jobsbridge

PHP Developer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

... Open Source software Understanding of Object Oriented programming and design Experience with MVC frameworks NOSQL systems such as Redis and MongoDB Understanding of Web development best practices ...

Jobsbridge

PHP Developer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

... Open Source software Understanding of Object Oriented programming and design Experience with MVC frameworks NOSQL systems such as Redis and MongoDB Understanding of Web development best practices ...

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Showing results 41-60

All JobsOpen Source Software Developer JobsOpen Source Software Developer Jobs in California

Open Source Software Developer information

See California salary details

$47.4K

$110.4K

$163.8K

How much do open source software developer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 11, 2026, the average yearly pay for open source software developer in California is $110,380.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $88,800.00 and $128,300.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is an open source software developer?

Open Source Software Developers are programmers who create, maintain, or contribute to software projects whose source code is made freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. They often collaborate with a global community of developers and may work on a voluntary basis or be employed by organizations that support open source initiatives. Their work involves writing code, fixing bugs, reviewing contributions, and helping manage project documentation. Open source developers play a key role in advancing technology by making software accessible and fostering innovation through community collaboration.

How do open source software developers typically collaborate with contributors from around the world?

Open Source Software Developers often work with a global community of contributors using online collaboration tools such as GitHub, mailing lists, and chat platforms like Slack or Discord. Communication is primarily asynchronous, requiring clear documentation and code review practices to ensure smooth project progress. Developers regularly participate in discussions, review pull requests, and help onboard new contributors, making strong written communication skills essential. This collaborative environment fosters learning and innovation, but also requires flexibility and patience to manage different time zones and cultural perspectives.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an open source software developer, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Open Source Software Developer, you need strong programming skills, knowledge of version control systems like Git, and familiarity with open source licensing, typically supported by a relevant degree or coding experience. Proficiency with collaborative development platforms such as GitHub or GitLab and understanding of continuous integration tools are commonly required. Excellent communication, self-motivation, and the ability to work effectively in distributed teams set outstanding contributors apart. These skills are crucial for efficiently building, maintaining, and contributing to widely used open source projects in a collaborative, global environment.

What is the difference between Open Source Software Developer vs Software Engineer?

AspectOpen Source Software DeveloperSoftware Engineer
CredentialsTypically requires programming skills, familiarity with open source licenses, and sometimes certifications like Linux Foundation certificationsRequires a degree in computer science or related field; certifications like Microsoft Certified or AWS certifications are common
Work EnvironmentOften collaborates in open source communities, contributes to public repositories, and works remotelyWorks in corporate or enterprise settings, often in teams within organizations
Industry UsageUsed across tech, non-profit, and open source communities; focuses on public projectsEmployed in various industries including tech, finance, healthcare, and more for product development

While both roles involve software development, Open Source Software Developers focus on collaborative, community-driven projects often in open environments, whereas Software Engineers typically work within organizations on proprietary or internal systems. The roles overlap in skills but differ in scope and work setting.

What cities in California are hiring for Open Source Software Developer jobs?

Cities in California with the most Open Source Software Developer job openings:

Open Source Software Developer jobs near you

Senior Software Engineer - Observe by Snowflake, OpenTelemetry

Menlo Park, CA • On-site

Snowflake
See more jobs at Snowflakeexternal

$144K - $190K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 5 days ago

Job description

Job Summary:
Snowflake is a company that powers the era of the agentic enterprise, seeking AI-native thinkers to reinvent how work is done. As a Senior Software Engineer on the OpenTelemetry team, you will drive Observe's open-source strategy, tackle challenges in telemetry collection, and collaborate with the OTel community to enhance industry standards.
Responsibilities:
• Pioneer new instrumentation capabilities in the OpenTelemetry community, defining and building next-generation telemetry collection for emerging domains including LLM/AI inference, Browser RUM, and mobile.
• Design and implement OTel Collector components (receivers, processors, exporters) and SDK instrumentation libraries that strengthen Observe's position as a leading OTel destination.
• Collaborate with the OpenTelemetry open-source community by contributing code, participating in SIG discussions, authoring RFCs, and reviewing pull requests to ensure high-quality contributions.
• Architect and own the Observe Agent — our OTel Collector distribution — including its extension points, pipeline architecture, and release strategy.
• Contribute to OpenTelemetry Semantic Conventions, helping define standardized telemetry schemas for new and evolving technology domains.
• Work with product and field engineering teams to translate customer instrumentation challenges into upstream contributions and product features.
• Represent Snowflake/Observe in the OTel community — present at conferences, build relationships with maintainers at other vendors, and drive consensus on specification decisions.
Qualifications:
Required:
• 5+ years of software engineering experience with meaningful involvement in the OpenTelemetry ecosystem (Collector, SDKs, or instrumentation libraries).
• Strong programming skills in Go (OTel Collector) and familiarity with at least one SDK language (Java, Python, JS/TS, or .NET).
• Deep understanding of OTel's architecture: the Collector pipeline model, SDK internals, context propagation, and the semantic conventions specification process.
• Experience contributing to open-source projects with multi-vendor governance — consensus-building, RFC authorship, and cross-organizational collaboration.
• Experience building cloud-native services and working with public cloud providers like AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• A passion for open-source software and community engagement, particularly in the observability and telemetry ecosystem.
• Strong opinions on instrumentation design: what makes telemetry useful vs. noisy, and how to balance coverage with performance overhead.
Preferred:
• Approver or maintainer status in an OTel SIG (Collector, SDK, Semantic Conventions, or OpAMP).
• LLM/AI observability instrumentation — tracing inference chains, token usage, model performance metrics.
• Browser RUM or front-end performance instrumentation.
• Designing and shipping an OTel Collector distribution or Kubernetes operator.
Company:
Snowflake is a cloud data platform that provides a data warehouse as a service designed for the cloud. Founded in 2012, the company is headquartered in San Mateo, USA, with a team of 5001-10000 employees. The company is currently Late Stage.

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