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Platform Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

AI Platform Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$170 - $240/hr

Zof AI is seeking an AI Platform Engineer to own the platform our AI systems run on. This is a consolidated platform role spanning what the market posts as AI Infrastructure, MLOps, LLMOps, and agent ...

Platform Engineer

Foster City, CA · On-site

$153K - $234K/yr

We are seeking a highly motivated, energetic, self-starting Platform Engineer to join our Systems Reliability and Stability team. This position will be responsible for ensuring the upkeep, design ...

Platform Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$175K - $225K/yr

... platform end-to-end and design powerful and elegant abstractions that scale. Requirements * Built multiple products 0 → 1 or 1 → n / staff+ engineer experience * Deep care for your craft - you ...

About The Role As a Platform Engineer at Phonic, you'll build the foundation that lets our engineering team move fast without breaking things. Real-time voice AI at our scale is unforgiving ...

Platform Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$123K - $160K/yr

As we continue to grow, we're looking for a Senior Platform Engineer on our Enterprise Information Systems team, you must possess strong technical skills and a sense of empathy for your fellow ...

Agent Platform Engineer

Menlo Park, CA · On-site

$200K - $300K/yr

Agent Platform Engineer Company Overview A leading artificial intelligence and advanced analytics organization is seeking an Agent Platform Engineer to help develop next-generation AI orchestration ...

Platform Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$123K - $160K/yr

As we continue to grow, we're looking for a Senior Platform Engineer on our Enterprise Information Systems team, you must possess strong technical skills and a sense of empathy for your fellow ...

Platform Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$123K - $160K/yr

As we continue to grow, we're looking for a Senior Platform Engineer on our Enterprise Information Systems team, you must possess strong technical skills and a sense of empathy for your fellow ...

Platform Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$170K - $400K/yr

About the Role You'll build the platform that powers Hark's AI agent - the runtime, the ... Strong systems engineering fundamentals. You are comfortable designing APIs, building reliable ...

As a Platform Engineer , you'll be responsible for designing and maintaining the systems that keep Zyphra's infrastructure robust, observable, secure, and scalable. Your work will be essential to ...

SDKs, multi-tenant platforms, developer tooling. * You've taken a successful product or open-source project from zero to one. * You're product-driven and enjoy working across the stack. * You've ...

Platform Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$170K - $400K/yr

About the Role You'll build the platform that powers Hark's AI agent - the runtime, the ... Strong systems engineering fundamentals. You are comfortable designing APIs, building reliable ...

Platform Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$200K - $220K/yr

What we're building Hyperbound is the Revenue Activation Platform, the agentic operating system for ... Every internal team and every external developer building against us is building against decisions ...

About the Role We are looking for a skilled Kubernetes Platform Engineer to join our Platform Engineering team. In this hands-on individual contributor role, you will be at the heart of our ...

Platform Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$250K - $350K/yr

About the role You will be building the next cloud platform for running AI software - a cloud where ... Systems programming skills - Strong in at least one of: Go, Rust, C/C++. You've written performance ...

Showing results 41-60

Platform Engineer information

See California salary details

$32

$63

$93

How much do platform engineer jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 6, 2026, the average hourly pay for platform engineer in California is $63.12, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $49.81 and $72.84 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a platform engineer?

A platform engineer writes code that bridges the gap between software and hardware and tests the system so that it runs effectively and smoothly. In this career, you are a vital part of the software and hardware industries. You run diagnostics tests to verify the correct design of hardware, which usually means writing code for manufacturing diagnostics so that the testing of the hardware takes place automatically. The qualifications needed for a career as a platform engineer include a bachelor’s degree in computer science or an associate’s degree and relevant work experience.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a platform engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Platform Engineer, you need a solid background in computer science, systems architecture, and cloud infrastructure, often supported by a relevant degree or equivalent experience. Familiarity with containerization tools (like Docker and Kubernetes), infrastructure-as-code platforms (such as Terraform), and cloud services (AWS, Azure, or GCP) is typically required, along with relevant certifications. Strong problem-solving skills, collaboration, and effective communication help Platform Engineers drive reliability and innovation within technical teams. These competencies are crucial for building scalable, secure, and efficient platforms that support an organization's technology needs.

How does a platform engineer typically collaborate with development and operations teams?

Platform Engineers work closely with both development and operations teams to design, build, and maintain scalable infrastructure and deployment pipelines. They often serve as a bridge, ensuring that applications can be deployed reliably and efficiently while meeting the requirements of both teams. Regular communication is key, as Platform Engineers gather feedback from developers about tooling needs and coordinate with operations to uphold system stability and security. This collaborative environment fosters automation, streamlines workflows, and supports continuous delivery practices.

What is the difference between Platform Engineer vs DevOps Engineer?

AspectPlatform EngineerDevOps Engineer
CredentialsBachelor's in CS or related field, often cloud certificationsBachelor's in CS, DevOps certifications (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes)
Work EnvironmentDesigning and building platform infrastructure, working with cloud servicesAutomating deployment, CI/CD pipelines, and system operations
Industry UsageTech companies, cloud providers, SaaS firmsSoftware development, IT operations, cloud services

Platform Engineers focus on creating and maintaining the underlying infrastructure and platforms, while DevOps Engineers streamline development and deployment processes through automation. Both roles collaborate closely but have distinct focuses within the software development lifecycle.

Do platform engineers make good money?

Platform engineers typically earn competitive salaries that vary based on experience, location, and industry. They often have skills in cloud computing, automation, and scripting, which can lead to higher compensation levels compared to other engineering roles.

What will a platform engineer do?

A platform engineer designs, builds, and maintains the underlying infrastructure and tools that support software development and deployment. They work with cloud services, automation, and scripting to ensure scalable, reliable, and efficient systems, often using technologies like Kubernetes, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines.

What are the most commonly searched types of Platform Engineer jobs in California?

The most popular types of Platform Engineer jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Platform Engineer jobs in California?

For Platform Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Platform Engineer jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Platform Engineer jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Platform Engineer jobs?

Cities in California with the most Platform Engineer job openings:

Infographic showing various Platform Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 56% Full Time, 42% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 77% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 20% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $131,284 per year, or $63.1 per hour.

AI Platform Engineer

Zof AI

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$170 - $240/hr

Other

Posted 7 days ago


Job description

Zof AI is seeking an AI Platform Engineer to own the platform our AI systems run on. This is a consolidated platform role spanning what the market posts as AI Infrastructure, MLOps, LLMOps, and agent platform engineering: model serving and scaling, GPU and compute efficiency, and the provisioning, observability, and reliability infrastructure that keeps production agents stable. The ideal candidate has operated real AI workloads in production and builds infrastructure that lets a small team run systems well above its weight.

Engineering · Senior · Full-time · On-site · San Francisco, CA

Responsibilities
  • Design and operate model serving, scaling, and compute infrastructure.
  • Own GPU and inference efficiency, capacity, and cost.
  • Build the platform for provisioning, running, and scaling agents.
  • Build observability for AI systems: tracing, monitoring, and alerting.
  • Keep production AI systems stable, debuggable, and recoverable.
  • Automate deployment, rollback, and environment management.
  • Set reliability standards and incident practices for AI workloads.
  • Partner with engineers to make the platform fast to build on.
Requirements
  • Experience operating production AI, ML, or high-scale backend systems.
  • Strong infrastructure and systems engineering foundation.
  • Experience with cloud platforms, containers, and orchestration.
  • Experience with observability and reliability tooling.
  • Judgment about cost, performance, and operational trade-offs.
  • Clear written and verbal communication.
  • Comfort operating in a fast-moving environment.
  • High ownership of systems in production.
Nice to have
  • Experience with GPU clusters, inference servers, or model gateways.
  • Experience running agent workloads or long-lived AI processes.
  • Experience with Kubernetes, Terraform, or similar tooling.
  • Experience in early-stage platform teams.

Experience operating production AI or ML systems at scale is required

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