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Prompt Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

OPPO US Research Center

AI Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

Design and improve prompt engineering and context engineering workflows, including AI evaluation, debugging, and tuning for real-world product scenarios. Build and improve AI agent systems with ...

Northern Base

AI Engineer

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

... prompt engineering. • Experience architecting, designing, and deploying enterprise-grade AI applications. • Strong understanding of AI platforms such as Azure AI Foundry, AWS Bedrock, Google ...

New

Carter Support Services

AI/ML Engineer

Burbank, CA · On-site

$111K - $153K/yr

Develop and optimize prompt engineering strategies for LLM-based systems * Build and deploy RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) pipelines * Integrate LLMs via APIs (Azure OpenAI preferred) into ...

SM Global IT LLC

Data Engineer (GenAI)

San Jose, CA · On-site

$134K - $161K/yr

Build and integrate LLM-powered applications , including prompt engineering, RAG pipelines, and tool/function calling. * Collaborate with business stakeholders to translate requirements into ...

New

OPPO US Research Center

AI Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

... and improve prompt engineering and context engineering workflows, including AI evaluation, debugging, and tuning for real-world product scenarios. • Build and improve AI agent systems with ...

OPPO US Research Center

AI Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

... and improve prompt engineering and context engineering workflows, including AI evaluation, debugging, and tuning for real-world product scenarios. • Build and improve AI agent systems with ...

Gamma

AI Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

If you get excited about mixing prompt engineering with software engineering to unlock new AI capabilities, this is your role. Our team has a strong in-office culture and works in person 4-5 days per ...

Artos

Backend Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$166K - $231K/yr

Hands-on experience with GenAI applications: prompt engineering, RAG, data pipelines, and eval frameworks * Experience building APIs with modern Python frameworks (FastAPI, Django, etc.) * Experience ...

David Joseph & Company

Backend Engineer

San Francisco, CA · Hybrid

$120K - $250K/yr

LLM / prompt-engineering and agentic tooling. Requirements * Strong Python proficiency (hard requirement) * Hands-on infrastructure-as-code -- Terraform or similar (hard requirement) * A working ...

BMC Software, Inc

Lead AI Engineer - AgenticAI

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$120K - $158K/yr

Implement prompt engineering, tool use, memory, evaluation, and guardrails as first class engineering concerns, not experiments. * Contribute to the design of agent frameworks that balance autonomy ...

BirdEye Inc

Sales GTM Engineer

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

Build and maintain AI-based automations and workflows, including prompt engineering for generative-AI-enabled tools. Tech Stack Ownership * Maintain a centralized inventory of all GTM systems with ...

SolGenie

AI Lead (SAP Background Required)

Torrance, CA · On-site +1

$106K - $139K/yr

This role requires strong experience in LLMs, prompt engineering, RAG pipelines, and AI-driven automation, with a focus on POCs → production deployment. Candidates having experience building and ...

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Prompt Engineer information

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How much do prompt engineer jobs pay per hour?

As of Jul 26, 2026, the average hourly pay for prompt engineer in California is $46.47, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $35.34 and $60.00 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Prompt Engineer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Prompt Engineer, you need a strong grasp of natural language processing (NLP), machine learning concepts, and experience crafting effective prompts for large language models, usually supported by a technical degree or relevant experience. Familiarity with tools such as OpenAI's API, Hugging Face, or other AI platforms, as well as knowledge of programming languages like Python, is highly valuable. Creative thinking, analytical problem-solving, and cross-functional communication skills help differentiate top candidates in this field. These abilities are crucial for optimizing AI outcomes and ensuring collaboration with both technical and non-technical teams.

What does a typical day look like for a Prompt Engineer?

A typical day for a Prompt Engineer involves designing, testing, and refining prompts to enhance the performance of AI language models, often collaborating closely with data scientists, software engineers, and product managers. You might analyze the results of model outputs, integrate user or stakeholder feedback, and iterate on prompt strategies to solve diverse business challenges. Your role will usually include documentation, troubleshooting, and keeping up with the latest advances in AI technologies. Expect a mix of independent work and regular team meetings in a dynamic, fast-evolving environment focused on innovation and improvement.

What engineer makes $500,000 a year?

Senior software engineers, especially those working in high-demand fields like AI, machine learning, or at major tech companies, can earn $500,000 or more annually through base salary, bonuses, and stock options. Achieving this level typically requires extensive experience, specialized skills, and often leadership roles or equity compensation.

What is a Prompt Engineer job?

A Prompt Engineer is a professional who designs, refines, and optimizes prompts to improve interactions with AI models, such as ChatGPT. Their role involves understanding model behavior, crafting precise queries, and experimenting with phrasing to achieve desired outputs. They may work in AI research, software development, or content generation to maximize AI efficiency. Strong skills in language, logic, and sometimes coding are essential for success in this role.

Is prompt engineer still a thing?

Prompt engineering is an emerging role focused on designing effective prompts for AI language models. It is increasingly in demand as organizations seek to optimize AI interactions, often requiring skills in natural language processing and familiarity with tools like GPT. The role continues to grow alongside advancements in AI technology.

What exactly is prompt engineer work?

A prompt engineer designs and optimizes prompts used to interact with AI language models, ensuring accurate and relevant outputs. The role requires understanding of AI systems, natural language processing, and often involves testing and refining prompts to improve model performance. Skills in programming, data analysis, and familiarity with AI tools are commonly needed.

Is prompt engineer salary?

Prompt engineers typically earn salaries comparable to other AI and machine learning specialists, with average annual pay ranging from $80,000 to $150,000 depending on experience, location, and industry. Skills in natural language processing, prompt design, and familiarity with AI tools like GPT are highly valued and can influence compensation.
What are the most commonly searched types of Prompt Engineer jobs in California? The most popular types of Prompt Engineer jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Prompt Engineer jobs in California? For Prompt Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Prompt Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Prompt Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Prompt Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Prompt Engineer job openings:
Prompt Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Prompt Engineer job openings in California as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 93% Full Time, 4% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 7% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $96,657 per year, or $46.5 per hour.

AI Engineer

OPPO US Research Center

Palo Alto, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 6 days ago

Job description

OPPO AI Center is seeking a passionate AI Engineer to help build next-generation AI products and intelligent agent systems. In this role, you will design, develop, and deploy advanced LLM and AI Agent technologies that integrate text and vision capabilities. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to build scalable AI solutions and bring AI technologies into real-world products and user experiences.

Key Responsibilities:

Develop and optimize AI applications based on LLMs and multimodal foundation models, with strong understanding of model quality, latency, and cost trade-offs.

Design and improve prompt engineering and context engineering workflows, including AI evaluation, debugging, and tuning for real-world product scenarios.

Build and improve AI agent systems with capabilities such as memory management, context management, and tool usage for production AI applications.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

Master's degree in CS, AI, ML, CV, NLP, or a related field; or Bachelor's degree with 2+ years of industry experience in related areas.

Hands-on experience with LLM APIs and modern foundation models, with solid understanding of model trade-offs across quality, latency, scalability, and cost efficiency in real-world AI applications.

Strong understanding of prompt engineering, context engineering, AI agent architectures, memory and context management, and tool-calling workflows, with the ability to independently perform AI system evaluation, debugging, tuning, and optimization.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience building and deploying AI agent systems, including tool-use agents, workflow automation agents, and multimodal AI applications in production environments.

Familiarity with modern AI frameworks and ecosystems such as LangChain, OpenAI API, Anthropic API, Gemini API, vector databases, RAG pipelines, and agent orchestration frameworks.

Strong problem-solving and communication skills, with the ability to rapidly prototype, iterate, and collaborate across research, engineering, and product teams in a fast-paced AI development environment.

Benefits

OPPO is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $100,000-$200,000 + bonus + long term incentives benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location.

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