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Physics Software Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Roblox

Principal Software Engineer, Physics

San Mateo, CA

$153K - $206K/yr

You will report to the Physics Environment Engineering Manager. You Will: * Innovate and implement ... its impact on software performance. * Physics and Numerical Methods Experience: Practical ...

Roblox

Principal Software Engineer, Physics

San Mateo, CA · On-site

$295K - $345K/yr

You will report to the Physics Environment Engineering Manager. You Will: * Innovate and implement ... its impact on software performance. * Physics and Numerical Methods Experience: Practical ...

Gamma Scientific

Software Engineer

San Diego, CA

Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related technical discipline. * 3-7 years of professional software development experience.

Checkpoint Technologies, LLC

Be Seen First

Software Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$125K - $150K/yr

Bachelor's degree in software engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related discipline. * 2 - 5 years of experience developing software preferably for scientific instrumentation or test ...

Metron

Software Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Applied Math, or related field  * At least 3 years of experience as a Software Engineer or Developer * Active Secret Clearance

Metron

Software Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Applied Math, or related field * At ... as a Software Engineer or Developer * Active Secret Clearance * Experience designing and ...

Leidos

Software Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site +1

$69K - $125K/yr

You'll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers-experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing -to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from massive ...

Leidos

Software Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site +1

$87K - $157K/yr

You'll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers-experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing -to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from massive ...

EG-Engineering

Controls Software Engineer

Bodega Bay, CA

$53.75 - $68.50/hr

Develop and support Physics Higher Level Applications for the ALS accelerator complex using ... Collaborate effectively with software developers, accelerator physicists, engineers, and operations ...

Leidos

Software Engineer

Rancho Santa Fe, CA · On-site

$87K - $157K/yr

You'll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers--experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing --to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from ...

Leidos

Software Engineer

National City, CA · On-site

$87K - $157K/yr

You'll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers--experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing --to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from ...

Leidos

Software Engineer

El Cajon, CA · On-site

$87K - $157K/yr

You'll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers--experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing --to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from ...

Leidos

Software Engineer

Chula Vista, CA · On-site

$87K - $157K/yr

You'll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers--experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing --to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from ...

Leidos

Software Engineer

La Jolla, CA · On-site

$87K - $157K/yr

You'll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers--experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing --to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from ...

Leidos

Software Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$87K - $157K/yr

You'll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers--experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing --to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from ...

Leidos

Software Engineer

Cardiff By The Sea, CA · On-site

$87K - $157K/yr

You'll join a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers--experts in hydrodynamics, physics, acoustics, and signal processing --to build high-impact software that extracts meaning from ...

Metron

Software Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Applied Math, or related field * At least 3 years of experience as a Software Engineer or Developer * Active Secret Clearance * Experience ...

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Showing results 1-20

All JobsPhysics Software Engineer JobsPhysics Software Engineer Jobs in California

Physics Software Engineer information

See California salary details

$62.7K

$145.6K

$202.8K

How much do physics software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 16, 2026, the average yearly pay for physics software engineer in California is $145,592.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $118,400.00 and $170,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Physics Software Engineer vs Data Scientist?

AspectPhysics Software EngineerData Scientist
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Physics, Computer Science, or related fieldBachelor's or Master's in Data Science, Statistics, Computer Science, or related field
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, tech companies, aerospace, or defense industriesTech firms, finance, healthcare, or consulting companies
Industry UsagePhysics research, simulation, modeling, and software developmentData analysis, machine learning, predictive modeling, and data visualization

Physics Software Engineers focus on developing software for physics applications, simulations, and research, often working in research or engineering environments. Data Scientists analyze large datasets to extract insights and build predictive models. While both roles require strong programming skills, Physics Software Engineers emphasize physics principles, whereas Data Scientists focus on data analysis and statistical methods.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Physics Software Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Physics Software Engineer, you need a strong background in physics, mathematics, and computer science, typically supported by a degree in physics, engineering, or a related field. Proficiency in programming languages such as C++, Python, or MATLAB, and experience with simulation software or scientific computing libraries are essential. Analytical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication are crucial soft skills for collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and interpreting complex data. These skills are vital for developing accurate, efficient software solutions that model physical systems and drive innovation in scientific and engineering projects.

What is a Physics Software Engineer?

A Physics Software Engineer is a professional who develops, maintains, and optimizes software that simulates or models physical systems and phenomena. They often work at the intersection of physics, computer science, and engineering, creating tools for scientific research, simulations, or real-time physics engines used in industries like gaming, aerospace, or research institutions. These engineers typically have a strong background in both physics and programming, enabling them to translate complex physical formulas and concepts into efficient and accurate code. Their work is crucial for advancing technology in areas such as computational physics, virtual reality, and engineering design.

How does a Physics Software Engineer typically collaborate with scientists and other engineering teams during a project?

Physics Software Engineers often work closely with physicists, data scientists, and hardware engineers to translate complex physical models into reliable software solutions. Collaboration usually involves regular meetings to clarify requirements, iterative development cycles to test and validate simulation accuracy, and ongoing feedback to refine algorithms. Effective communication and teamwork are essential, as engineers must bridge the gap between theoretical concepts and practical implementation while ensuring that software integrates smoothly with other systems. This collaborative environment fosters continuous learning and problem-solving, making the role both challenging and rewarding.
What are popular job titles related to Physics Software Engineer jobs in California? For Physics Software Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Physics Software Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Physics Software Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Physics Software Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Physics Software Engineer job openings:
Physics Software Engineer jobs near you

Physics Applications - Software Engineer

Vinci AI

Palo Alto, CA • On-site

$210K - $285K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 5 days ago

Job description

The Mission
At Vinci, we are building the operator intelligence infrastructure that modern hardware programs rely on daily. We have already proven that a single foundation model works out of the box across physics on realistic production workloads.
  • Trained on PetaBytes of structured physics data
  • Running billion-voxel inference in production
  • Tier-1 semiconductor and hardware customers
  • Operating across multiple physical scales and operator regimes

We are scaling deployment at industrial magnitude:
  • Increase simulation throughput by two orders of magnitude
  • Expand simulation capabilities to maximize utility and domain coverage
  • Support global, multi-entity deployment across Tier-1 ecosystems

Our ambition is to become the default operator intelligence layer that hardware companies run on.
Solving Across Space and Time
Our proven unified model architecture allows users to rapidly obtain steady state solutions of various partial differential equations. We are expanding this capability to support new physics, new geometries. Beyond that we are building out transient solutions, modeling interactions, deformation and dynamics. A core challenge as we scale out support is designing simple and clean interfaces that turn portions of the codebase into a clean library, ensuring they are correct and accurately reflect the underlying physics being modeled. These are promising applications where Vinci's approach can not only reduce the compute load but also achieve greater accuracy.
What You Will Do
Your north star will be production and delivering value to our customers while establishing and maintaining the technical integrity of our codebase.
In this role you will define and implement high-quality, reusable software libraries for our core simulation engine. You will drive code quality, testability, and architectural standards across the team, ensuring our production system scales gracefully and remains maintainable. This includes designing interfaces that are easy to access and correctly reflect the physics they are modeling. You will take ownership of critical system components, mentor junior engineers, and guide the team in transforming research prototypes into hardened, customer-facing features.
You will work with Physicists, AI researchers, Software Engineers and Computational Geometry experts. You will collaborate closely with this team to enforce software engineering best practices throughout the full development lifecycle, from ideation to deployment.
What We're Looking For
Qualifications:
  • 8+ years of experience in high-quality software development, with significant experience designing and building production-grade systems.
  • Prior experience with scientific computing or physics simulators (FEM, FEA, Molecular Dynamics, FDTD), or large-scale machine learning systems.
    • STEM MSc, PhD preferred but not required.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives focused on code health, modularity, and system correctness.
  • Expertise in building robust, tested, and maintainable software libraries and APIs.
  • Strong proficiency in modern software development practices, including system design, agentic coding, testing frameworks, and continuous integration/delivery (CI/CD).
  • Have contributed to a production data processing system.

We are very excited to talk with you if you have
  • Experience building and maintaining core ML, data infrastructure, or numerical computing software (e.g., PyTorch, Numpy, Cuda, distributed systems).
  • Experience going from early stage prototype moving to a production environment
    • At a Startup or National Lab
  • Have leveraged simulation for design or data generation purposes.

Engineering Expectations
  • Architectural Leadership: Define and uphold rigorous software design standards to ensure the code base remains clean, modular, and scalable in a production environment.
  • Code Health and Testability: Drive strong CI, comprehensive regression testing, and validation discipline across all components.
  • Technical Ownership: Capable of independently solving complex architectural problems and taking ownership of core model infrastructure evolution.
  • Mentorship: Mentor scientists & engineers on best practices, performance optimization, and system design.

Why Vinci
Join a rare early-stage startup that has successfully moved a foundational product from research to real-world, production environments, already serving Tier-1 semiconductor and hardware customers.
Our Mission & Impact
Vinci is building the operator intelligence infrastructure that modern hardware programs rely on daily. We are scaling our solution to accelerate design validation from hours to seconds. You will contribute to expanding our unified model architecture, which currently runs billion-voxel inference, into the transient domain-a key frontier in modeling interactions, deformation, and dynamics. Our ambition is to become the default operator intelligence layer for hardware companies.
Growth & Opportunity
This is a unique opportunity for technical and professional growth, as you will define a foundational abstraction layer early in the company's trajectory. The team is small, friendly, and accessible. You will be empowered to "own and architect large pieces of the system" alongside a team of Physicists, AI researchers, Software Engineers, and Computational Geometry experts. This includes greenfield opportunities to expand Vinci's core capabilities.
Leadership
You will work with spectacular technical leaders like CTO Sarah Osentoski and CEO Hardik Kabaria, whose vision is to greatly accelerate physics simulations with ML while retaining solver grade accuracy.

Apply