ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Software Engineer 500K Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

David Joseph & Company

Account Executive

San Francisco, CA · Hybrid

$150K - $200K/yr

Requirements * 2-7 years of full-cycle B2B SaaS sales * $50-500K ACV (sweet spot $50-200K) * Mid ... Technical-adjacent: ex-solutions engineer, CS major/minor, ex-software engineer moved to sales, or ...

Tenstorrent

$100K - $500K/yr

Refining your ability to gather requirements and facilitate communication between hardware designers and software engineers. Compensation for all engineers at Tenstorrent ranges from $100k - $500k ...

AssemblyAI

Senior Forward Deployed Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$123K - $169K/yr

... 500K ARR per employee, we sit among the top 5 most revenue-dense teams within the fastest-growing ... Are willing to wear many hats (software engineer, product manager, account manager, and support ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

All JobsSoftware Engineer 500K JobsSoftware Engineer 500K Jobs in California

Software Engineer 500K information

See California salary details

$62.7K

$145.6K

$202.8K

How much do software engineer 500k jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 30, 2026, the average yearly pay for software engineer 500k 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 jobs pay 500,000 a year in the US?

Software engineers with extensive experience, specialized skills, and working in high-paying industries such as finance or technology can earn $500,000 or more annually, often through base salary, bonuses, and stock options. Executive roles like CTOs or senior engineering managers may also reach this compensation level, especially in large companies or startups with equity packages.

What is a Software Engineer 500K job?

A Software Engineer 500K job refers to a high-paying software engineering role where total compensation, including base salary, bonuses, and stock options, reaches around $500,000 per year. These positions are typically found at top tech companies, hedge funds, or startups with significant equity potential. Engineers in these roles often have extensive experience, specialized skills in fields like AI, distributed systems, or high-frequency trading, and a strong track record of delivering impact.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Software Engineer 500K position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Software Engineer with a $500K compensation, you generally need deep expertise in software development, computer science fundamentals, and architecture, often backed by a degree in CS or a related field and significant experience. Mastery of programming languages (such as Python, Java, C++), large-scale systems, cloud infrastructure, and familiarity with advanced technical tools or certifications (like AWS Certified Solutions Architect or specialized ML/AI credentials) are typical. Exceptional problem-solving, leadership, and communication skills make a candidate stand out in complex, high-impact environments. These abilities are crucial to drive innovation, deliver robust products, and effectively collaborate within elite technical teams.

What job pays $1,000,000 a month?

A Software Engineer earning $1,000,000 a month typically works in high-level roles such as senior or executive positions at major tech companies, often receiving substantial base salaries, bonuses, and stock options. Such compensation is rare and usually involves extensive experience, advanced skills, and significant equity holdings in successful organizations.

Can you make $500,000 as a software engineer?

Software engineers can earn $500,000 or more annually, especially in senior roles, at large tech companies, or through stock options and bonuses. Achieving this level typically requires extensive experience, specialized skills, and often working in high-paying industries or locations with a competitive compensation market.

What types of projects or challenges do Software Engineers earning $500K typically work on?

Software Engineers in top compensation brackets are often tasked with designing and building highly scalable, mission-critical systems that support major business functions or impact millions of users. They may lead technical initiatives, solve complex infrastructure problems, and innovate with emerging technologies in areas such as machine learning, cloud computing, or security. These roles frequently require cross-team collaboration, mentoring junior engineers, and influencing architectural decisions at an organizational level. Success in these positions demands both a high level of technical expertise and strong leadership to drive significant business outcomes.

What engineering jobs pay $500,000?

Software engineers, especially those in senior or specialized roles such as machine learning engineers or technical leads, can earn $500,000 or more annually, often through base salary, bonuses, and stock options. High-paying positions typically require extensive experience, advanced skills, and work at large tech companies or startups with significant funding.
What are the most commonly searched types of Software Engineer 500K jobs in California? The most popular types of Software Engineer 500K jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Software Engineer 500K jobs in California? For Software Engineer 500K jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Software Engineer 500K jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Software Engineer 500K jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Software Engineer 500K jobs? Cities in California with the most Software Engineer 500K job openings:
Software Engineer 500K jobs near you

Software Engineer, RL Environments

David Joseph & Company

San Francisco, CA

$180K - $220K/yr

Full-time

Posted 20 days ago

Job description

San Francisco, CA · On-site · Full-time Compensation: $180,000–$220,000 + competitive equity (profit-share brings total cash ~$500K)

About the Company

Our client builds the training data and evaluation infrastructure that frontier AI labs use to improve their models, designing high-signal datasets and running rigorous evaluations that go beyond static benchmarks. It's a small, early team where individual contributors have direct impact on how the next generation of models learns. The founding team comes from top quant firms, big tech, and leading AI research labs.

Founded 2025 · 11–50 people · Industry: AI / ML

The Role

As a Software Engineer (Environments), you design the datasets and evaluation rubrics that directly influence how frontier models learn — going from hypothesis to live experiment quickly, with output feeding directly into model training.

What you'll be doing

  • Design targeted data slices that surface model failure modes across high-stakes domains (finance, code generation, enterprise workflows)
  • Build and iterate on evaluation rubrics and reward signals powering RLHF and RLVR training pipelines
  • Develop quantitative frameworks to measure dataset quality, diversity, and downstream impact on model alignment and capability
  • Own end-to-end real-world and synthetic data pipelines, from scoping with research teams to production-ready evaluation specs
  • Run annotator-modeling experiments to improve model capabilities across task types
Requirements
  • 1–4 years of software-engineering experience with strong technical depth
Nice to Haves
  • Experience at RL-environment companies
  • A background in AI safety or benchmarking organizations (e.g., METR, Artificial Analysis)
  • A genuine obsession with how data structure, selection, and quality drive model behavior
  • An ability to design lightweight experiments and move fast
  • Former founders or early engineers at early-stage startups
  • A demonstrated ability to work hard, learn fast, and care deeply about details
Why Join
  • Outsized total cash: base plus profit share brings expected total cash to around $500K, plus competitive equity
  • A direct line to frontier models: output feeds directly into model training runs at scale, working hands-on with research teams at top AI labs
  • High ownership on an early team: scope, build, and ship end to end
Details
  • Location — San Francisco, CA
  • Work policy — On-site
  • Compensation — $180,000–$220,000 + competitive equity (profit-share brings total cash ~$500K)
  • Visa sponsorship — Available (O-1, OPT)
  • Employment type — Full-time