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Playground Design Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Design Engineer

San Francisco, CA ยท On-site

$150K - $280K/yr

Design and build polished experiences across Exa's product, playground, documentation, and website * Move fluidly between design and code to explore ideas, prototype interactions, and refine ...

Principal Engineer, Physical Design

San Diego, CA ยท On-site

$144K - $148K/yr

... find your playground at Innophase IoT. We are looking for people seeking AWESOMENESS! If you're ... Overview of Role As a Physical Design Principal Engineer, you will be responsible for the entire ...

Senior SoC STA Engineer

San Diego, CA ยท On-site

$144K - $148K/yr

... playground at Innophase IoT. We are looking for people seeking AWESOMENESS! If you're good at what ... In this role, you will work closely with RTL Design, Physical Design, Architecture, DFT ...

Nex Playground, the company's award-winning active play system, is purpose-built to get families moving year-round, with safety and privacy as core considerations in its intentional design. It is ...

Product Designer

San Francisco, CA ยท On-site

$200K - $280K/yr

... design of our developer-facing product, with an eye toward making powerful technology accessible far beyond a technical audience.. That means reimagining the playground, bringing coherence to our API ...

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Playground Design information

What are common challenges faced by professionals working in playground design, and how can they be addressed?

Professionals in playground design often encounter challenges such as balancing safety regulations with creative, engaging designs, accommodating diverse accessibility needs, and working within tight budget constraints. Collaborating closely with landscape architects, community stakeholders, and regulatory bodies is essential to ensure that the final playground is safe, inclusive, and enjoyable for all children. Staying updated with current safety standards and universal design principles can help address these challenges, while open communication with clients and project managers can assist in finding innovative solutions within budgetary limits.

What is the difference between Playground Design vs Playground Equipment Installer?

AspectPlayground DesignPlayground Equipment Installer
CredentialsDesign certifications, landscape architecture degreesTechnical training, safety certifications
Work EnvironmentOffice, design studios, on-site planningConstruction sites, installation locations
Industry UsagePlanning and conceptualizing playgroundsAssembling and installing equipment
Common Search IntentDesign process, planning, conceptsInstallation procedures, safety standards

Playground Design focuses on creating the overall layout, aesthetics, and safety features of playgrounds, often involving planning and design skills. Playground Equipment Installers, on the other hand, specialize in the physical setup and installation of playground equipment on-site. Both roles are essential in playground projects but differ in their focus, credentials, and work environment.

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

To thrive as a Playground Designer, you need a background in landscape architecture or design, familiarity with safety standards, and knowledge of child development. Proficiency with CAD software, 3D modeling tools, and relevant certifications like CPSI (Certified Playground Safety Inspector) are typically required. Creativity, strong communication, and the ability to collaborate with clients and contractors are vital soft skills. These abilities ensure that playgrounds are not only engaging and imaginative but also safe, accessible, and compliant with regulations.

What is playground design?

Playground design is the process of planning and creating play spaces that are safe, accessible, and engaging for children of various ages and abilities. It involves selecting appropriate equipment, materials, and layouts to encourage physical activity, social interaction, and imaginative play. Designers must also consider safety standards, accessibility requirements, and community needs to ensure the playground benefits everyone. The goal is to create an inclusive environment that supports healthy child development while providing fun and creative play opportunities.
What are popular job titles related to Playground Design jobs in California? For Playground Design jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Playground Design jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Playground Design jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Playground Design jobs? Cities in California with the most Playground Design job openings:
Infographic showing various Playground Design job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 76% Full Time, 17% Part Time, 2% Temporary, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 85% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution.

Design Engineer

Exa

San Francisco, CA โ€ข On-site

$150K - $280K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision

Re-posted 12 days ago


Job description

Exa is an applied AI lab building a search engine unlike the world has ever seen. We build massive-scale infrastructure to crawl the web, train state-of-the-art embedding models to understand it, and develop high-performance vector databases to retrieve information from it.
Today, Exa powers search for Cursor, Cognition, HubSpot, and more than 400,000 developers. We've raised $350 million from Lightspeed, Benchmark, and a16z.
Our goal is to build perfect search over all of the world's information, far beyond what traditional search engines can offer. The interfaces for working with this technology are still being invented, and you'll help define them.
About the role
We're looking for a Design Engineer with exceptional visual taste and strong front-end craft to design and build developer-facing experiences across Exa's product, playground, documentation, website, and brand.
You'll work directly with product and engineering, moving from early ideas and prototypes to polished, production-ready experiences. There is no traditional design-to-engineering handoff. You'll use both design and code to explore possibilities, refine interactions, and ship.
Designers at Exa have broad creative license, and the freedom to create and lead new initiatives based on their best judgement. This role will be a great fit for you if you enjoy moving quickly across different kinds of work without compromising on craft.
What you'll do
  • Work with product and engineering from early exploration through launch
  • Design and build polished experiences across Exa's product, playground, documentation, and website
  • Move fluidly between design and code to explore ideas, prototype interactions, and refine implementation
  • Design new ways for people and agents to discover, integrate, debug, and build with Exa
  • Identify high-impact product opportunities and turn them into clear, polished experiences
Example projects
  • Rethink Exa's API playground, from its structure and interactions through production implementation
  • Design onboarding and documentation that work naturally alongside coding agents
  • Create better ways for developers to inspect search results, understand API behavior, and debug integrations
About you
  • You have 4+ years designing and building software
  • You have a portfolio of polished, interactive products or prototypes
  • You have strong visual and interaction design skills for complex technical products
  • You're fluent in Figma, React, TypeScript or JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and think in reusable components
  • You use coding agents to explore, prototype, and ship ideas
  • You independently identify opportunities, communicate clearly, and work well through ambiguity
Logistics
  • Location: This is an in-person opportunity in San Francisco.
  • Visas: We're happy to sponsor international candidates (e.g., STEM OPT, OPT, H1B, O1, E3). While we cannot guarantee your visa, we have historically been successful in sponsoring candidates from all over the world. If you receive an offer, our team will work hard to get you a visa.
  • Benefits: We offer premium healthcare benefits (medical, dental, vision), fertility benefits, 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for all new parents, and a monthly wellness stipend to all of our employees.

Exa is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related conditions, criminal histories consistent with applicable law, or any other basis protected by applicable law.