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Software Engineer Open Source Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Senior Staff Engineer, Open Source Server

$260K - $325K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

If you have a passion for improving the developer experience, building world-class open-source software and communities, and want to be a part of our amazing team, we'd love to hear from you! Summary ...

Sr. Open Source Software Engineer (Kafka)

San Jose, CA

$143K - $189K/yr

  • Medical

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Overview As a Senior Open Source Software Engineer, your responsibilities will include: * Lead end-to-end upstream initiatives in Apache Kafka, from KIP authoring and design consensus through ...

Sr. Open Source Software Engineer (Kafka)

Morrisville, NC

$114K - $151K/yr

  • Medical

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Overview As a Senior Open Source Software Engineer, your responsibilities will include: * Lead end-to-end upstream initiatives in Apache Kafka, from KIP authoring and design consensus through ...

Sr. Open Source Software Engineer (Kafka)

Morrisville, NC ยท On-site

$114K - $151K/yr

  • Medical

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Overview As a Senior Open Source Software Engineer, your responsibilities will include: * Lead end-to-end upstream initiatives in Apache Kafka, from KIP authoring and design consensus through ...

Sr. Open Source Software Engineer (Kafka)

Waltham, MA

$133K - $176K/yr

  • Medical

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Overview As a Senior Open Source Software Engineer, your responsibilities will include: * Lead end-to-end upstream initiatives in Apache Kafka, from KIP authoring and design consensus through ...

Platform Director (Open Source)

State College, PA ยท On-site

$247K/yr

At Xora, we connect pioneering software developers in the AR/VR space and deliver an open source stack for trusted, high performing, cross-platform software development. Our software auto compiles to ...

Showing results 21-40

Software Engineer Open Source information

See salary details

$63.5K

$147.5K

$205.5K

How much do software engineer open source jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 17, 2026, the average yearly pay for software engineer open source in the United States is $147,524.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $120,000.00 and $173,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a software engineer open source do?

A Software Engineer Open Source designs, develops, and maintains software that is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. They typically contribute to open source projects by writing code, fixing bugs, and collaborating with a global community of developers. Their work often involves using and improving open source tools, libraries, and frameworks, ensuring code quality, and adhering to community standards and licensing requirements. Open source software engineers may work for companies that support open source projects or contribute in their free time to public repositories.

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

To thrive as a Software Engineer Open Source, you need strong programming skills (often in languages like Python, JavaScript, or C++), a solid understanding of software development principles, and experience contributing to public code repositories. Familiarity with version control systems like Git, open source collaboration platforms such as GitHub or GitLab, and knowledge of CI/CD tools are typically expected. Excellent communication, collaboration, and self-motivation help you work effectively with distributed teams and diverse communities. These skills are crucial to build high-quality software, foster community trust, and drive impactful contributions in open-source environments.

How do software engineers in open source projects typically collaborate with a distributed team?

Software Engineers working on open source projects often collaborate with contributors from around the world using asynchronous communication tools like GitHub, Slack, and mailing lists. Team members submit and review code through pull requests, participate in discussions through issues, and attend virtual meetings when necessary. This distributed structure requires strong written communication skills, self-motivation, and familiarity with version control workflows. Engaging with a diverse community also provides valuable networking opportunities and exposure to a wide range of technical challenges.

What is the difference between Software Engineer Open Source vs Software Engineer?

AspectSoftware Engineer Open SourceSoftware Engineer
CredentialsBachelor's in CS or related field, sometimes open source contributionsBachelor's in CS or related field, sometimes certifications
Work EnvironmentCollaborative, community-driven projects, often remoteCorporate or startup settings, team-based, often in-office or hybrid
Industry UsageTech companies, open source communities, nonprofitsTech, finance, healthcare, and various industries
Search & Comparison IntentFocus on open source contributions, community involvementBroader software development roles, product focus

While both roles involve software development, Software Engineer Open Source emphasizes contributions to open source projects and community collaboration, often with a focus on transparency and shared knowledge. Software Engineers in general may work on proprietary products within organizations. The key difference lies in the environment and nature of work, with open source roles being more community-oriented and transparent.

What states have the most Software Engineer Open Source jobs?

States with the most job openings for Software Engineer Open Source jobs include:

What job categories do people searching Software Engineer Open Source jobs look for?

The top searched job categories for Software Engineer Open Source jobs are:

Infographic showing various Software Engineer Open Source job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 79% Full Time, 17% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 93% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $147,524 per year, or $70.9 per hour.

JavaScript Engineer (Open Source Team)

LangChain, Inc

San Francisco, CA โ€ข On-site

$160K - $240K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 10 days ago


Job description

About Us
At LangChain, our mission is to make intelligent agents ubiquitous. We build the foundation for agent engineering in the real world, helping developers move from prototypes to production-ready AI agents that teams can rely on. We began as widely adopted open-source tools and have grown to also offer a platform for building, evaluating, deploying, and operating agents at scale.
With $125M raised at Series B from IVP, Sequoia, Benchmark, CapitalG, and Sapphire Ventures, we're at a stage where we're continuing to develop new products, growth is accelerating, and all team members have meaningful impact on what we build and how we work together. LangChain is a place where your contributions can shape how this technology shows up in the real world.
Today, our platform includes LangSmith (Observability, Evaluation, Deployment, Fleet, and Sandboxes), our open source frameworks (LangChain, LangGraph, and Deep Agents), and the newly launched LangSmith Engine for autonomous agent improvement. We have 100M+ monthly open source downloads, 6,000+ active LangSmith customers, and 5 of the Fortune 10 use LangSmith in production (+ 35% of the Fortune 500 overall), including teams at Klarna, Clay, Coinbase, Workday, Lyft, Cloudflare, Harvey, Rippling, Vanta, LinkedIn, Monday.com, Nvidia, and Bridgewater.
About the Team
The Open Source team builds and maintains the core libraries that developers use to build AI agents with LangChain. The team works directly with the open-source community to improve the ecosystem, maintain core packages, and ensure developers can reliably build and deploy production AI systems using LangChain.
About the Role
We're looking to add a core maintainer to the LangChain team. This person would be responsible for maintaining and improving the LangChain JavaScript package. In-person in SF preferred.
What You'll Do
  • Improve the core abstractions and runtime of the LangChain and LangGraph JavaScript packages
  • Improve documentation across the LangChain ecosystem
  • Answer user questions and resolve issues from the developer community
  • Use LangChain to build example applications that demonstrate best practices for developers building AI systems

What You'll Bring
  • 3+ years of software engineering or applied machine learning experience
  • A background in software engineering
  • Strong written and oral communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly and concisely to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • The ability to thrive in a fast-moving environment and view unstructured environments as an opportunity to identify the most impactful work and help define the future success of the company
  • An ownership-minded approach to work, with the ability to manage your work efficiently and effectively without the need for close supervision

Compensation
  • Annual salary range: $160,000- $240,000

Compensation Philosophy:
We offer competitive compensation that includes base salary, variable compensation for relevant roles, meaningful equity, benefits, and perks. Actual compensation and offerings will vary based on role, level, and location. Team members in the EU, UK, and APAC receive locally competitive benefits aligned with regional norms and regulations.
Benefits
Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage, flexible vacation, a 401(k) plan, meals on in-office days in the US and more.