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Startup Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Clera

Early-Stage Startup Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

About the Role Join a pre-seed AI startup as Engineer #4 on the founding team, working directly with the CTO and fellow founding engineers. This is a high-ownership, fast-paced role where you'll ship ...

Clera

Early-Stage Startup Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

About the Role Join a pre-seed AI startup as Engineer #4 on the founding team, working directly with the CTO and fellow founding engineers. This is a high-ownership, fast-paced role where you'll ship ...

Hirevouch

Founding SW Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

This person needs to be an energetic startup engineer, productive in our codebase, and capable of shipping code to production by day two. - We should be comfortable with this engineer speaking with ...

Simple AI Lab Company

Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$130K - $280K/yr

Experience as an early-stage startup engineer or founder. * Experience with TypeScript, React, Python, Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, AWS. If you are excited to shape the visual identity of a fast ...

Clera

Founding AI Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$120K - $180K/yr

About the Role This is a founding engineering role at a seed-stage AI startup building the intelligence layer for the construction industry. The company's platform transforms messy blueprints ...

Align Technology

Startup line Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$103K - $141K/yr

Startup line Engineer Department: Research & Development Employment Type: Full Time Location: US-California-San Jose Compensation: $103,000 - $141,700 / year Description Join our Research and ...

Clera

Founding AI Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$120K - $180K/yr

About the Role This is a founding engineering role at a seed-stage AI startup building the intelligence layer for the construction industry. The company's platform transforms messy blueprints ...

Amgen, Inc.

Engineer I

Thousand Oaks, CA · On-site

Apply process engineering principles to support the design, specification, installation, startup, and validation of process equipment and systems * Assists with project activities by performing ...

Amgen

Engineer I

Thousand Oaks, CA · On-site

Apply process engineering principles to support the design, specification, installation, startup, and validation of process equipment and systems * Assists with project activities by performing ...

Amgen

Engineer 1

Thousand Oaks, CA · On-site

Apply process engineering principles to support the design, specification, installation, startup, and validation of process equipment and systems * Assists with project activities by performing ...

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All JobsStartup Engineer JobsStartup Engineer Jobs in California

Startup Engineer information

See California salary details

$38.5K

$100.4K

$135.7K

How much do startup engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 7, 2026, the average yearly pay for startup engineer in California is $100,420.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $82,900.00 and $115,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some typical challenges a startup engineer faces when working in an early-stage company?

Startup Engineers often encounter rapidly changing priorities and ambiguous requirements as the company pivots to find product-market fit. They may need to balance building scalable solutions with the need for quick prototyping, sometimes working with limited resources or incomplete documentation. Collaboration across disciplines—such as product, design, and business teams—is frequent, so adaptability and strong communication skills are essential. These challenges can be demanding but also provide valuable opportunities to learn and grow quickly within a dynamic environment.

What is a startup engineer?

Startup engineers are versatile software or hardware engineers who work at early-stage companies to design, build, and scale new products or technologies. They often wear many hats, handling everything from coding and infrastructure to product design and sometimes even customer feedback. Startup engineers thrive in fast-paced environments where adaptability, creativity, and problem-solving are essential. Their work is crucial in turning innovative ideas into viable products quickly, often with limited resources and tight deadlines.

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

To thrive as a Startup Engineer, you need strong programming abilities, a solid understanding of software architecture, and versatility across tech stacks, often supported by a degree in computer science or related fields. Familiarity with cloud platforms (like AWS or GCP), version control systems (such as Git), and rapid prototyping tools is commonly required. Adaptability, problem-solving, and effective communication are standout soft skills for this fast-paced environment. These skills and qualities are crucial for efficiently building scalable products and adapting to the evolving needs and constraints of early-stage startups.
What are popular job titles related to Startup Engineer jobs in California? For Startup Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Startup Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Startup Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Startup Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Startup Engineer job openings:
Startup Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Startup Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 82% Full Time, 12% Part Time, and 6% Contract. Highlights an 94% In-person, and 6% Hybrid job distribution, with an average salary of $100,420 per year, or $48.3 per hour.

Early-Stage Startup Engineer

Clera

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 6 hours ago

Job description

About the Role
Join a pre-seed AI startup as Engineer #4 on the founding team, working directly with the CTO and fellow founding engineers. This is a high-ownership, fast-paced role where you'll ship features to production daily and own entire product areas from concept to deployment. The company is building fully agentic systems that automate complex workflows - technically challenging, high-impact work at the earliest stage.
What You'll Do
  • Ship features to production on a daily cadence
  • Own end-to-end product areas from initial concept through deployment
  • Design, build, and consume REST APIs on the backend
  • Build scalable frontend interfaces with React
  • Integrate AI/ML capabilities using providers such as OpenAI or Claude
  • Collaborate closely with the CTO and founding team to define technical direction
  • Model and manage data using PostgreSQL and Supabase
What We're Looking For
Required:
  • Proficiency in full-stack development with TypeScript/JavaScript and Python
  • Backend experience with Node.js and REST API design/consumption
  • Frontend experience with React for building scalable UIs
  • Experience with PostgreSQL and Supabase for data modeling and storage
  • Hands-on experience integrating AI/ML features via providers like OpenAI or Claude
  • Ability to thrive in a founding-stage startup environment - owning features and shipping rapidly
  • Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
  • Willingness to work on-site in San Francisco (hackerhouse environment) or commute as needed
Location & Work Arrangement
This role is based on-site in San Francisco, CA. The team works out of a shared hackerhouse/office environment. Visa sponsorship is available.

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