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Senior Protocol Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Prosum

Security Engineer, Sr.

Santa Monica, CA · On-site

$128K - $176K/yr

Senior Security Engineer (Contract) Beachbody, a billion-dollar company and the leader of in-home ... Strong understanding of cryptography, protocol design and analysis. * Security certifications a ...

Collabera

Senior Network Engineer

Foster City, CA

$121K - $166K/yr

At least 7 years of experience in a Sr. Network Engineering role Expertise on IP Technologies and extensive knowledge of WAN technologies Extensive experience and expertise on IP routing protocols ...

Prosum Inc.

Senior Software Engineer

Temecula, CA · On-site

$150K - $175K/yr

Senior Software Engineer / Technical Leader (Individual Contributor) Core Technologies: C/C ... Working knowledge of networking protocols and secure communications, including TLS and/or IPsec.

Amgen, Inc.

Senior Engineer

Thousand Oaks, CA · On-site

$109K - $150K/yr

Senior Engineer What you will do Let's do this. Let's change the world. We are seeking a Senior ... Author and review guideline documents, technical protocols, reports, product impact assessments ...

Raso360

Sr Systems Controls Engineer

Monrovia, CA · On-site

$102K - $135K/yr

Senior Systems Controls Engineer Position Summary The Senior Systems Controls Engineer will lead ... Complete proficiency in controls design tools and protocols, including OPC UA, RSLogix, Sysmac ...

Amgen

Senior Engineer

Thousand Oaks, CA

$109K - $150K/yr

Senior Engineer What you will do Let's do this. Let's change the world. We are seeking a Senior ... Author and review guideline documents, technical protocols, reports, product impact assessments ...

Amgen Inc.

Senior Engineer

Thousand Oaks, CA · On-site

$109K - $150K/yr

Senior Engineer What you will do Let's do this. Let's change the world. We are seeking a Senior ... Author and review guideline documents, technical protocols, reports, product impact assessments ...

Aspinity

Senior Firmware Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$150 - $210/hr

Senior Firmware Engineer Somewear's software platform and satellite‑powered hardware enable ... Develop and maintain communication protocol stacks across satellite, LTE, Bluetooth, and mesh radio ...

New

ACI Infotech

Sr Network Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

$124K - $169K/yr

Role: Sr. Network/System Engineer Duration: Long Term Location: Sunnyvale, CA We are currently ... configurations protocol and interfacing. • Current developments and trends of network ...

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Senior Protocol Engineer information

How does a senior protocol engineer collaborate with cross-functional teams during the protocol development lifecycle?

As a Senior Protocol Engineer, collaboration with cross-functional teams is essential throughout the protocol development lifecycle. You will work closely with product managers to understand requirements, coordinate with security engineers to ensure protocol robustness, and partner with frontend/backend engineers to support implementation. Regular communication, code reviews, and design discussions are common, as you’ll often serve as a technical lead, guiding architecture decisions and ensuring alignment across teams. This collaborative approach helps ensure the protocol meets both technical and business objectives while maintaining high standards for security and performance.

What does a senior protocol engineer do?

A Senior Protocol Engineer is responsible for designing, implementing, and optimizing communication protocols that enable secure and efficient data exchange over networks or within distributed systems. They work on developing new protocols or improving existing ones, often focusing on areas like blockchain, networking, or cryptography. Their role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams, troubleshooting protocol-related issues, and ensuring that protocols are robust, scalable, and secure. Additionally, they may mentor junior engineers and contribute to open-source projects or standards bodies.

What is the difference between Senior Protocol Engineer vs Network Engineer?

AspectSenior Protocol EngineerNetwork Engineer
CredentialsBachelor's in Computer Science or related, certifications like CCNP, CCIEBachelor's in Computer Science, certifications like CCNA, CCNP
Work EnvironmentDesigning, analyzing, and optimizing network protocols, often in R&D or specialized teamsManaging and maintaining network infrastructure, troubleshooting connectivity issues
Industry UsageTelecommunications, data centers, networking hardware companiesIT departments, service providers, enterprise networks

The Senior Protocol Engineer focuses on developing and optimizing network protocols, requiring deep technical expertise. In contrast, a Network Engineer manages and maintains network infrastructure, ensuring connectivity and performance. Both roles require relevant certifications and work in related environments, but their core responsibilities differ significantly.

What skills and qualifications are needed to be a senior protocol engineer?

To thrive as a Senior Protocol Engineer, you need in-depth knowledge of network protocols, distributed systems, cryptography, and strong programming skills, typically backed by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with protocol design tools, languages like Rust, Go, or C++, and experience with blockchain frameworks or RFC standards are often required. Excellent problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills help in leading teams and navigating complex technical challenges. These abilities are crucial for designing secure, efficient protocols and ensuring reliable communication within advanced technology ecosystems.
What are the most commonly searched types of Protocol Engineer jobs in California? The most popular types of Protocol Engineer jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Senior Protocol Engineer jobs in California? For Senior Protocol Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Senior Protocol Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Senior Protocol Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Senior Protocol Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Senior Protocol Engineer job openings:
Senior Protocol Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Senior Protocol Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 71% Full Time, and 29% Contract. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution.

Senior Software Engineer, Platform Infrastructure

Aptos

Palo Alto, CA • On-site

$160K - $260K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 22 days ago

Job description

Aptos is a people-first blockchain on a mission to help billions of people achieve universal and fair access to decentralized assets in a safe and scalable way.
Founded by some of the original creators and maintainers that researched, designed, and built the Diem blockchain to serve this purpose, we have dedicated several years toward this mission. We believe the open-source Diem technology we have developed is an important foundation of a safe and scalable web3 world where everyone has more equitable opportunities to grow and access financial assets with lower fees and fewer intermediaries.
Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") encompasses our mission and ethos for why we build.
About The Role
We're looking for a talented, driven Senior Software Engineer to build the critical infrastructure that powers the Aptos blockchain ecosystem.
This role will have significant impact and visibility - the systems you build will directly enable thousands of developers to build on Aptos. You'll work on APIs, indexers, node infrastructure, SDKs, and developer tools that form the foundation of the network. You'll help shape technical direction and may grow into leading other engineers as the team scales.
You should love solving hard distributed systems problems and have a passion for building robust, scalable infrastructure. You will be joining a lean team with a lot of autonomy - you should be a self-starter and thrive on self-directed work in a fast-paced environment.
This role sits in our Palo Alto, CA or New York, NY office.
What you'll be doing:
  • Leading initiatives to design, build, and optimize backend services and platform infrastructure for the Aptos blockchain
  • Developing scalable APIs, indexing services, and data pipelines to support blockchain data access
  • Building and maintaining infrastructure for node operations, monitoring, and observability
  • Building and maintaining SDKs, libraries, and developer tools
  • Writing clean, performant, well-tested, and production-ready code
  • Collaborating closely with protocol engineers, infrastructure teams, and product engineers

What you bring:
  • 5+ years of experience building and shipping scalable backend systems
  • Strong experience building backend systems in languages such as Rust, Go, C++, Java, Python, or similar
  • Deep understanding of systems programming concepts
  • Strong understanding of distributed systems, databases, and API design
  • Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work autonomously in a fast-paced environment
  • Experience with blockchain infrastructure, indexing, or node operations (a plus)
  • Web3 experience or familiarity (a plus)
  • Background in payments, DeFi, or TradFi (a plus)
  • Comfortable leveraging AI tools to enhance productivity and code quality

The base salary range for this full-time position is $160k - $260k. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and typical maximum target for new hire salaries for the position of a candidate based in the Bay Area at any level. We do hire exceptionally talented professionals with decades of experience in their field. As such, our range may be higher than what is displayed. Our base salary ranges are determined by experience and location, and we hire at all levels for multiple roles. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location, job-related skills demonstrated during the interviews, working experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in role postings reflect the base salary only and do not include equity, tokens, or benefits.
#LI-PG1
Our Benefits
  • 100% insurance premium coverage for medical, dental, and vision for you and your dependents (US Employees)
  • Equipment of your choice
  • Flexible vacation time, 11 holidays, and floating company days off
  • Competitive Salary
  • Protocol Token Grants
  • 401k matching (US Employees)
  • Fun and inclusive in-person and digital events

Aptos is committed to diversity in the workplace, and we're proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not hire on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, parental status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by local, state or federal law. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.
We are committed to providing a safe and secure hiring process for all applicants. Unfortunately, there are individuals who may attempt to impersonate Aptos or our employees for fraudulent purposes.
To protect yourself, please be aware of the following:
  • We will never ask you for payment of any kind during the application or onboarding process, including fees for background checks, training, or equipment.
  • We will always communicate with you using our official company email domain.
  • We will never request your personal financial information, such as your social security number or bank account details, during the initial application stages or via email or a video/voice call when onboarding.

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