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Staff Software Developer Engineer Jobs in California

Guidewire Software

Staff Software Engineer

San Mateo, CA · On-site

$158K - $277K/yr

Summary Solution Engineering is looking for a Staff Software Engineer to provide technical ... Experience building SaaS, PaaS, or developer platforms on AWS, GCP, or Azure. * Experience with ...

IT America Inc

Staff Software Engineer

Hercules, CA · On-site

Staff Software Engineer Location: Hercules, California Duration: Long term contract As a Staff ... Champion the use of continuous integration, unit testing, and other modern DevOps practices to ...

Unitytech

Staff Software Developer

Mountain View, CA · On-site

$200K - $300K/yr

The AI Generators team is building a platform for developers to create, modify, and incorporate high-quality assets into games through natural language, reusable tools, and APIs. This gives creators ...

Stryker Corporation

Staff Software Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$150 - $200/hr

Staff Software Engineer** to join our **Endoscopy division.** In this role, you will lead the design and implementation of complex software systems, including application architecture and product ...

Illumina

Staff Software Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$150 - $200/hr

Staff Software EngineerSkip to main content#Staff Software Engineer page is loaded## Staff Software EngineerApplylocations: US - California - San Diego: US - Remotetime type: Full timeposted on:

OneTrust

Staff Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

The Challenge We're looking for a Staff Software Engineer to help lead technical direction across a major feature area or set of related systems at OneTrust. Staff Engineers determine their own ...

Flow Engineering

Staff Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$240K - $280K/yr

About the role Flow is seeking staff software engineers to build AI-powered capabilities that help teams author, review, and manage requirements more effectively. You will work on agentic systems ...

Flow Engineering

Staff Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$200 - $250/hr

About the role Flow is seeking staff software engineers to build AI-powered capabilities that help teams author, review, and manage requirements more effectively. You will work on agentic systems ...

Blue Bear Capital

Staff Software Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$125 - $150/hr

We're hiring a Staff Software Engineer who is an exceptional backend engineer equally comfortable ... Note: This is a coding-heavy role, not a pure DevOps or configuration position. * Deep AWS ...

Endeavor AI, Inc

Staff Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$250K - $325K/yr

The Role | Staff Software Engineer As a Staff Software Engineer at Endeavor, you will help optimize our application and make our key business cases run faster. You'll find the bottlenecks in a messy ...

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Staff Software Developer Engineer information

What is a staff software developer engineer?

Staff Software Developer Engineers are senior-level software engineers who are recognized as technical experts within their organizations. They typically lead complex projects, mentor other developers, and influence the overall technical direction of their teams or departments. Staff engineers often collaborate across multiple teams, solve difficult engineering challenges, and help set best practices and standards. Their role goes beyond coding to include technical leadership and strategic decision-making.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a staff software developer engineer?

To thrive as a Staff Software Developer Engineer, you need deep expertise in software architecture, advanced programming skills, and a strong background in computer science, typically demonstrated by a relevant degree and substantial industry experience. Familiarity with modern development frameworks, cloud platforms, CI/CD pipelines, and proficiency in tools like Git, Docker, and Kubernetes is expected. Leadership, effective communication, and mentorship abilities distinguish top performers in this role. These skills empower Staff Engineers to design robust solutions, guide teams, and drive technical excellence across complex projects.

What are some typical challenges a staff software developer engineer might encounter when leading cross-functional teams?

As a Staff Software Developer Engineer, leading cross-functional teams often involves navigating differing priorities, aligning stakeholders with technical goals, and ensuring clear communication across disciplines. You may find yourself balancing technical leadership with mentorship, while also setting architectural direction and resolving conflicts. Successfully managing these challenges requires strong interpersonal skills, adaptability, and a proactive approach to facilitating collaboration between engineering, product, and design teams.

What is the difference between Staff Software Developer Engineer vs Software Development Manager?

AspectStaff Software Developer EngineerSoftware Development Manager
CredentialsBachelor's or Master’s in CS or related field; extensive coding experienceBachelor's or Master’s in CS, Business, or related; leadership experience
Work EnvironmentHands-on coding, technical design, mentoringTeam management, project oversight, stakeholder communication
Industry UsageCommon in tech companies, R&D teamsCommon in larger organizations, tech firms, product companies

The Staff Software Developer Engineer focuses on technical expertise, coding, and mentoring within teams, while the Software Development Manager oversees project management, team leadership, and strategic planning. Both roles are vital but differ in scope and responsibilities.

Is a staff software developer engineer a high position?

A staff software developer engineer is considered a senior-level position within software engineering, often involving technical leadership, mentorship, and complex project responsibilities. It is typically viewed as a high-ranking role, just below engineering management or principal engineer levels.

What cities in California are hiring for Staff Software Developer Engineer jobs?

Cities in California with the most Staff Software Developer Engineer job openings:

Staff Software Engineer

San Mateo, CA • On-site

Guidewire Software
Insurance Services • 1 - 5K employees
Learn more about Guidewire Softwareexternal

$158K - $277K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 26 days ago

Job description

Summary
Solution Engineering is looking for a Staff Software Engineer to provide technical leadership across cloud-native services and AI-enabled engineering initiatives. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a hands-on engineering environment, enjoys solving complex distributed systems problems, and can guide multiple teams toward secure, scalable, and reliable solutions.
You will help design, build, and operate multi-tenant SaaS services and platform capabilities that create measurable customer and business value. You will partner closely with engineering, product, architecture, security, and field-facing teams to deliver these solutions.
This is a technical leadership role requiring strong engineering depth, sound architectural judgment, mentorship, and the ability to drive execution in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
Job Description
What you would do:
  • Provide technical leadership and mentorship across multiple engineering teams, fostering a collaborative, innovative, and customer-centric engineering culture.
  • Design, build, and operate scalable, secure, multi-tenant, cloud-native SaaS services and platform components.
  • Develop microservices, APIs, automation tools, and lifecycle management capabilities for highly available distributed applications and services.
  • Build and operate platform capabilities using modern cloud and data technologies such as AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, and Kafka.
  • Drive the adoption of AI, agentic coding tools, GenAI capabilities, and advanced automation to accelerate engineering productivity and platform innovation.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with product, architecture, security, operations, and solution teams to launch new capabilities aligned with Guidewire's AI, cloud, and platform priorities.
  • Own technical design, implementation quality, CI/CD pipelines, scalability, availability, observability, service reliability, and data security.
  • Champion proactive security, compliance, operational excellence, and reliability improvements across services and platforms.
  • Lead complex technical initiatives from concept through delivery, including design reviews, implementation guidance, risk management, and production readiness.
  • Support the growth of engineers through coaching, feedback, technical guidance, pair programming, and development opportunities.

What you would need to succeed:
  • 12+ years of software engineering experience, ideally with a focus on cloud platforms, data platforms, distributed systems, SaaS, or platform engineering.
  • Deep expertise in Java and strong proficiency in designing and building large-scale distributed systems, microservices, and API-driven architectures.
  • Strong understanding of distributed systems principles, including consistency, availability, durability, reliability, fault tolerance, scalability, and consensus concepts.
  • Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, AWS or another public cloud, Docker, infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation, and modern CI/CD practices.
  • Experience designing, developing, and operating microservices, cloud-native services, automation frameworks, and production-grade platform components.
  • Strong knowledge of algorithms, data structures, performance optimization, concurrency, and system-level tradeoffs.
  • Experience building or integrating data platforms, machine learning platforms, or large-scale data processing systems.
  • Demonstrated ability to embrace AI, apply AI-assisted engineering practices, and use data-driven insights to improve productivity, innovation, and continuous improvement.
  • Excellent technical communication skills, with the ability to explain complex ideas clearly, influence through technical merit, and align stakeholders across teams.
  • Proven ability to mentor engineers, lead technical direction, promote engineering excellence, and operate with humility, ownership, and a team-first mindset.

Bonus
  • Experience with Large Language Models, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, vector databases, AI agents, agentic workflows, or Model Context Protocol.
  • Proficiency in additional languages such as JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, or Go, with a willingness to learn and adapt across technology stacks.
  • Experience building SaaS, PaaS, or developer platforms on AWS, GCP, or Azure.
  • Experience with TeamCity-based CI/CD pipelines, Argo Workflows, event-driven architecture, or Kafka-based systems on public cloud.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $158,000 - $277,000. Your base pay will depend on your experience, skills, education, training, and location among other factors. All full-time positions or part-time roles working 30 hours or more a week at Guidewire are eligible for benefits that support their health and well-being including health, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, and a company sponsored retirement plan. In addition, some roles may be eligible for the annual company bonus plan, commissions, and/or long term incentive awards which are contingent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, company and employee performance.
Disability Accommodations and Guidewire's Appeals Process. Guidewire provides accommodations to the hiring process to create a fair opportunity for candidates with disabilities to contend for open positions. Accommodation requests should be directed to Accommodations@guidewire.com. If things do not go as hoped, we invite you to use our appeals process. Guidewire promises to independently review any denied accommodation and any decision not to offer you the position. The appeals process is the same in either case. Within five business days of receiving a notice of denial of an accommodation, or receiving a notice of your non-selection for a vacancy, e-mail Accommodations@guidewire.com to make an appeal. Guidewire will assign a new decision-maker to review the request and/or hiring decision, who will then notify you in writing of a decision within 10 business days.
About Guidewire
Guidewire is the platform P&C insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently. We combine digital, core, analytics, and AI to deliver our platform as a cloud service. More than 540+ insurers in 40 countries, from new ventures to the largest and most complex in the world, run on Guidewire.
As a partner to our customers, we continually evolve to enable their success. We are proud of our unparalleled implementation track record with 1600+ successful projects, supported by the largest R&D team and partner ecosystem in the industry. Our Marketplace provides hundreds of applications that accelerate integration, localization, and innovation.
For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com and follow us on Twitter: @Guidewire_PandC.
Guidewire Software, Inc. is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to an inclusive workplace, and believe that a diversity of perspectives, abilities, and cultures is a key to our success. Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, marital status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or disability. All offers are contingent upon passing a criminal history and other background checks where it's applicable to the position.

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