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Staff Software Engineer Salaries Jobs in Riverside, CA

We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer to support testing, deployment, and integration of ... The salary range for this role is $70,000-$300,000. The actual offer for this position will be ...

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Staff Software Engineer Salaries information

See Riverside, CA salary details

$63.1K

$168.1K

$229.5K

How much do staff software engineer salaries jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 29, 2026, the average yearly pay for staff software engineer salaries in Riverside, CA is $168,120.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $140,300.00 and $198,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges faced by Staff Software Engineers in balancing technical leadership with hands-on development?

Staff Software Engineers often encounter the challenge of balancing their responsibilities as technical leaders with their passion for hands-on coding. They are expected to architect solutions, mentor team members, and drive technical strategy, while also contributing directly to codebases. This balancing act requires strong time management skills and effective prioritization to ensure both team guidance and project delivery remain high-quality. Additionally, Staff Engineers frequently collaborate with cross-functional teams, requiring excellent communication to align technical goals with business objectives.

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

Staff Software Engineers at large tech companies or those with extensive experience, specialized skills, and stock options can earn $500,000 or more annually. Such salaries often include base pay, bonuses, and equity, and reaching this level typically requires years of experience, advanced technical expertise, and leadership responsibilities.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Staff Software Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Staff Software Engineer, you need deep expertise in software development, strong problem-solving abilities, and an extensive understanding of system architecture, typically backed by a relevant degree and significant industry experience. Proficiency with programming languages (such as Java, Python, or C++), cloud platforms, and development tools, as well as familiarity with CI/CD systems and code review processes, is crucial. Leadership, effective communication, and mentorship abilities distinguish top performers in this role. These skills are essential for designing scalable solutions, guiding teams, and ensuring technical excellence across projects.

What is the difference between Staff Software Engineer Salaries vs Senior Software Engineer Salaries?

AspectStaff Software EngineerSenior Software Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master’s in CS or related field, extensive experienceBachelor's or Master’s in CS, 5+ years experience
Work EnvironmentLead projects, mentor teams, influence technical decisionsDevelop features, troubleshoot, contribute to codebase
Employer & Industry UsageUsed in large tech companies, startups, consulting firmsCommon across tech companies, startups, enterprise firms

Staff Software Engineers typically have more experience, leadership responsibilities, and influence over technical strategy compared to Senior Software Engineers. They often lead projects and mentor teams, whereas Senior Software Engineers focus on developing and maintaining software. Salary differences reflect these roles' scope and responsibilities.

Is staff software engineer a high position?

A staff software engineer is considered a senior-level position in software development, often involving technical leadership, mentorship, and complex project responsibilities. It is typically viewed as a high-ranking role within engineering teams, above senior engineer but below engineering manager or architect levels.

What are typical salaries for Staff Software Engineers?

Staff Software Engineers are senior-level professionals, and their salaries can vary widely based on location, industry, and company size. In the United States, the average base salary ranges from $150,000 to $220,000 annually, with total compensation (including bonuses and stock options) sometimes exceeding $300,000 at top tech companies. Staff Software Engineers often receive additional benefits such as equity, performance bonuses, and comprehensive health coverage. Factors like experience, expertise in specific technologies, and negotiation skills can also impact the total compensation package.

What is the staff software engineer's salary?

The salary for a staff software engineer typically ranges from $130,000 to $200,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and company size. In addition to base pay, they may receive bonuses, stock options, and other benefits, especially in large tech firms or competitive markets.

What is the average salary of a staff software engineer?

The average salary of a staff software engineer typically ranges from $130,000 to $180,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and company size. Seniority, technical skills, and industry also influence compensation levels for this role.
What are popular job titles related to Staff Software Engineer Salaries jobs in Riverside, CA? For Staff Software Engineer Salaries jobs in Riverside, CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What cities near Riverside, CA are hiring for Staff Software Engineer Salaries jobs? Cities near Riverside, CA with the most Staff Software Engineer Salaries job openings:
Infographic showing various Staff Software Engineer Salaries job openings in Riverside, CA as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 97% Full Time, 1% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $168,120 per year, or $80.8 per hour.
Staff Software Engineer, Robotics

Staff Software Engineer, Robotics

Anduril Industries

Irvine, CA • On-site

$220K - $292K/yr

Full-time

Posted 22 days ago


Anduril rating

9.1

Company rating: 9.1 out of 10

Anduril

Based on 17 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

7.4

Company rating compared to similar companies: 7.4 out of 10

Manufacturers average

Based on 74,453 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz


Job description

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century's most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril's family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.
ABOUT THE TEAM
The Air Defense team builds robots that find other robots and knock them out of the sky. At a time when air superiority can no longer be taken for granted, the Air Defense Team provides mission critical capabilities to warfighters. From detection to tracking, identification, deterrence, and defeat, our family of networked sensors and effectors enables our customers to rapidly close the kill chain against a broad range of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) threats. Working across product, engineering, sales, logistics, operations, and mission success, the Air Defense team develops, tests, deploys, and sustains the Anduril Air Defense Family of Systems (FoS) in challenging operational environments worldwide.
ABOUT THE ROLE
We're looking for a Staff Software Engineer specializing in Robotics to join our growing team in Irvine, CA. As a Software Engineeron theAir Defenseteam, you will solve a wide variety of problems involving autonomy, systems integration, robotics, networking, and more, while making pragmatic engineering tradeoffs along the way. Your efforts will ensure that Anduril products seamlessly work together to achieve a variety of critical outcomes. Above all, Software Engineers on Air Defense are driven by a "Whatever It Takes" mindset-executing in an expedient, scalable, and pragmatic way while keeping the mission top-of-mind and making sound engineering decisions to deliver successful outcomes correctly, on-time, and with high quality.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
  • Write and maintain core libraries and services that perform critical functions for collaborative teams of robots - for example, frame transformations, targeting and guidance, etc.
  • Own major feature development and rollout of large, complex features for our products. This includes systems analysis, sensor selection and integration, perception architecture and implementation, motion planning, health management, behavior analysis, simulation and test infrastructure, and interfaces with lower- and higher-level systems.
  • Implement scalable sub-systems including sensor processing, perception, tracking, motion planning, health management, anomaly detection, simulation, testing fixtures, and vehicle interfaces
  • Work closely with Anduril and 3rd party robotic platform hardware teams, as well as operational subject matter experts to align on requirements during product development and iterate towards a final design.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • Strong engineering background from industry or school, ideally in areas/fields such as Robotics, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics.
  • 10+ years of C++ or Rust experience in a Linux development environment
  • Demonstrated experience leading projects or teams with the ability to inspire, mentor, and grow other engineers.
  • Proven understanding of data structures, algorithms, concurrency, and code optimization
  • Experience troubleshooting and analyzing remotely deployed software systems
  • Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret SCI security clearance
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • MS, ideally in areas/fields such as Robotics, Computer Science, Software Engineering
  • Experience programming for embedded and physical devices
  • Experience in one or more of the following: motion planning, perception, localization, mapping, controls, and related system performance metrics.
  • Understanding of systems software (kernel, device drivers, system calls) and optimizing for limited resources
  • Experience with sensor characterization and analysis

US Salary Range
$220,000-$292,000 USD
The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Anduril's total compensation package. Additionally, Anduril offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including:
Benefits
At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you're supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next. For more information, Explore Our Benefits.
Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams
Anduril is committed to maintaining the integrity of our Talent acquisition process and the security of our candidates. We've observed a rise in sophisticated phishing and fraudulent schemes where individuals impersonate Anduril representatives, luring job seekers with false interviews or job offers. These scammers often attempt to extract payment or sensitive personal information.
To ensure your safety and help you navigate your job search with confidence, please keep the following critical points in mind:
  • No Financial Requests: Anduril will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details (such as banking information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers) at any stage of our hiring process. Our legitimate recruitment is entirely free for candidates.
  • Please always verify communications:
    • Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address.
    • Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to contact@anduril.com.
  • Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach: If you receive any communication that appears suspicious, contains grammatical errors, or makes unusual requests, do not engage. Always confirm the sender's email domain is @anduril.com before providing any personal information or clicking on links.
  • What to Do If You Suspect Fraud: Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from Anduril, please report it immediately to contact@anduril.com. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.

Data Privacy
To view Anduril's candidate data privacy policy, please visit https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/.
By submitting your application, you consent to Anduril Industries using a third-party service provider to conduct pre-employment risk, integrity, and due diligence screening and assessing potential risks as part of your application process. This third-party service provider provides risk-intelligence services that may include analysis of sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public-record information, and other lawful open-source or commercial data sources. This third-party service provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency. Use of this provider helps to ensure compliance with applicable laws and protect technology, intellectual property, and organizational security.

Working at Anduril

About Anduril, in their own words

From Anduril

As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril delivers cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the warfighter in months, not years.


What Anduril employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom


Anduril Industries logo

About Anduril Industries

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Anduril Industries is a trailblazer in the technology industry based in Costa Mesa, CA, US. Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, the creator of Oculus VR, the company focuses on developing innovative technology to equip and empower those in the defense sector. Its primary products include cutting-edge autonomous systems and AI software that assist in combating threats to national and global security. The mission of Anduril Industries is to integrate technology and defense by building transformative, scalable solutions that ensure a safer world.

Industry

Guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing

Company size

501 - 1,000 Employees

Headquarters location

Costa Mesa, CA, US

Year founded

2017

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