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Top Startup Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Our team seeks an experienced product manager to join our fast-growing startup backed by Mark Cuban, NEA, Great Oaks and other top VCs and investors. As Scoutible's first Product Manager, you will ...

Our team seeks an experienced product manager to join our fast-growing startup backed by Mark Cuban, NEA, Great Oaks and other top VCs and investors. As Scoutible's first Product Manager, you will ...

About the role As the Manager, Startup Partnerships at Anthropic, you'll lead a high-performing and ... Create a unified, results-oriented culture across geographies that attracts top talent and delivers ...

About the role As the Manager, Startup Partnerships at Anthropic, you'll lead a high-performing and ... Create a unified, results‑oriented culture across geographies that attracts top talent and ...

Journey alongside a strong community of top talent who are relentless in their drive to build the ... As the Director, Startup Ecosystem at DigitalOcean, you will shape and deliver on the strategy to ...

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Top Startup information

See California salary details

$43.9K

$133K

$188K

How much do top startup jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 27, 2026, the average yearly pay for top startup in California is $133,006.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $109,500.00 and $155,900.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a top startup?

A Top Startup refers to an early-stage company that is quickly gaining recognition for its innovation, growth potential, and impact within its industry. These startups are often characterized by disruptive ideas, strong leadership, rapid scaling, and significant funding or customer traction. Being labeled a 'Top Startup' usually means the company stands out among its peers for its business model, market opportunity, and ability to attract both talent and investment.

What unique challenges can I expect when working at a top startup compared to an established company?

Working at a top startup often means embracing a fast-paced, constantly evolving environment where roles can be fluid and priorities may shift quickly. You may be expected to wear multiple hats, adapt to rapid changes, and contribute ideas outside of your core responsibilities. Collaboration is key, as teams are typically small and cross-functional, enabling close interaction with leadership and other departments. While this can be demanding, it also provides excellent opportunities for rapid skill growth, meaningful impact, and accelerated career advancement.

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

To thrive as a Startup Founder, you need entrepreneurial vision, business acumen, and a solid understanding of market research and product development, often supported by experience in business or technology fields. Familiarity with project management tools, financial modeling software, and digital marketing platforms is typically required. Outstanding founders demonstrate resilience, adaptability, and strong leadership, enabling them to inspire teams and pivot quickly. These skills and qualities are crucial for navigating uncertainty, driving growth, and building sustainable companies in competitive environments.

What is the difference between Top Startup vs Software Developer?

AspectTop StartupSoftware Developer
Required CredentialsTypically a degree in Computer Science or related field, coding certificationsSame as Top Startup, often with additional specialized certifications
Work EnvironmentFast-paced, innovative, startup cultureOffice or remote, corporate or startup settings
Employer & Industry UsageStartups across tech, e-commerce, SaaSTech companies, software firms, startups
Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding startup roles, opportunities, cultureTechnical skills, career growth, job responsibilities

The main difference between a Top Startup and a Software Developer lies in scope. A Top Startup refers to a company environment and culture, often emphasizing innovation and growth, while a Software Developer is a specific role focused on coding and software creation. Many Software Developers work at startups, but the term 'Top Startup' highlights the company's status and environment rather than individual responsibilities.

What cities in California are hiring for Top Startup jobs?

Cities in California with the most Top Startup job openings:

Infographic showing various Top Startup job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 79% Full Time, 14% Part Time, and 6% Contract. Highlights an 93% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $133,006 per year, or $63.9 per hour.

Founding Engineer - Relocate to the UK

Crane Venture Partners

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$60 - $120/hr

Other

Posted 8 days ago


Job description

Location

New York, San Francisco, London

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

On-site

Department

Engineering

Compensation
  • ÂŁ60K – ÂŁ120K • Offers Equity
Why we're hiring

London's tech scene is thriving, and we're building something special here. We're looking for talented engineers from the US who are excited about the opportunity to work in one of Europe's most vibrant tech hubs, with the career growth that comes from being an early employee at a fast‑growing startup.

Our product helps security teams quickly and accurately detect intrusions in their cloud environment using canaries – decoy tripwires deployed to deceive attackers.

We're at a massive inflection point and this is a hugely exciting time to join the company:

  • We are backed by some of the best investors in the space (Accel, Tapestry).
  • We are growing very quickly (we doubled ARR last quarter) and have signed some massive clients, including Riot Games, Synthesia, Docker, Coveo and Snyk, but also some others we can't disclose.
  • We are one of the most exciting startups to be part of in the UK, have seen some great feedback from the market and are ready for explosive growth.
  • Regularly featured on top startup lists from industry veterans...
  • Our research has recently helped fix a P1 security flaw in Google's Gemini CLI.
  • We're Seed stage, and have grown the company from 2 people 18 months ago to 11 today, with plans to triple this in the coming year.
  • Regularly featured on top startup lists from industry veterans...
    • Creandum's Euro Seed top 50 list, Sifted's 2025 London Startups To Watch, Notions Cloud Top 100, AlbionVC's NHI Breakdown, MMCs Proactive Security Analysis, Accel's Euroscape Top Startups 2024, etc.
  • Our research has recently helped fix a P1 security flaw in Google's Gemini CLI.

Thinking of moving to the UK? We can sponsor visas and provide a ÂŁ5,000 tax free relocation package to help with your move to London. We're also happy to provide guidance on finding accommodation, setting up in the UK, and making your transition as smooth as possible.

Who we're looking for
  • Cares deeply about producing high quality work and is ready to dig into the details but is savvy in making the correct tradeoffs on pace vs. quality.
  • Has spent at least a few years building software at some degree of scale and/or criticality.
  • Ideally at a Product focused company and/or working with at least 1 of the public clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.)
  • Is excited by the pace and rate of change that is inevitable in any successful, early stage startup.
  • Gets their energy from getting things done and in the hands of customers but is also here to have fun along the way!

If you don't fit this bill exactly but think you could make a difference here - please, apply!

About the role

Reporting to Sam, our CTO and Co-Founder, you'll join a team of other awesome engineers Michael, Dancho, Niall, Nico, Rahul, and Ed looking to make their mark on the world.

This includes:

  • Working face to face with both founders, the whole engineering team and our customers and prospects to build a delightful product that solves real problems.
  • Working across the stack, mostly in C# on .NET Core 8 but also Terraform and building out our frontend in HTMX.
  • All the good practices you'd expect from technical co‑founders who've done this before (CD, Infrastructure as code, simple but scalable and powerful architecture).
  • We're a small, tight team with demanding customers so expect to be delivering every day with very little bureaucracy.
  • We're based in a Central London office and work here 5 days a week (and everyone we hire will too).
FAQs How is work organised at Tracebit?

It's a small, tight team – we have a standup everyday, each team member is usually responsible for delivering something reasonably large for customers and we meet every few weeks to talk about longer term plans. Between that – there's a tonne of discussions, customer feedback and analysis, but not a huge amount of process; the team is trusted to prioritise where to spend their time.

Where is the office?

The whole team works together in an office right next to Warren Street tube station – there are lots of great places to grab lunch nearby. Central London is an incredible place to live and work, with world‑class food, culture, and entertainment on your doorstep.

Are you doing hybrid/remote?

Short answer: No, but flexible on a day‑to‑day basis.

Long answer: We are set on building the company on a foundation of an office based culture. We are a very early stage company and think that we'll build the best company at the fastest pace we can whilst also having a lot of fun by physically working together 5 days a week. On a case by case basis (e.g. leaving early for a holiday, staying home for a builder, working remote for a few days to visit family, etc.) we're very reasonable and flexible. We respect that this is not for everyone.

What are the working hours like?

We think 9am‑6pm will bring a great cadence to work. As a Founding Engineer there will definitely be times you need to pick up work outside of these hours, we're keen to limit this where we can but also offer flexibility in return.

Can you sponsor visas?

Yes! We can support various types of working visas in the UK, including:

  • Skilled Worker Visa (both from within and outside the UK)
  • Intra‑Company Transfer Visa
  • Graduate Visa Transition

We are keen to support candidates who require visa sponsorship. Please let us know which specific visa type you might need during the initial application or interview process. Our team is committed to helping talented individuals navigate the necessary visa requirements.

Compensation Range: ÂŁ60K - ÂŁ120K

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