Backend Engineer Jobs in San Jose, CA
Backend Engineer jobs in San Jose are concentrated in North San Jose, Downtown, and the Alviso corridor, where semiconductor, enterprise software, and cloud infrastructure companies run continuous engineering cycles. Employers actively hiring include TikTok, ByteDance, and Cisco. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
Find Backend Engineer JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 347+ Backend Engineer jobs











Applications accepted until further notice
Meet the Team
The Cisco Product Organization is the engine behind the platforms, technologies, and solutions defining the next generation of connectivity. Spanning AI Software& Platforms, Core Product Engineering, Collaboration, Security, Networking, Silicon, and Observability, we build the critical infrastructure that powers the digital world. Millions of people rely on our platforms every day, and our teams work together to build, refine, and scale products that drive meaningful impact. We are a team of passionate innovators, united by our curiosity, collaboration, and dedication to helping one another do our best work. Ready to help us build what's next?
The Cisco Product Internship Program offers a 12-week summer experience designed to welcome early-career talent into this mission. We embed interns within high-impact teams, where they collaborate directly on the products, platforms, and architectures shaping Cisco's future and powering the AI era. Throughout the program, interns have the opportunity to participate in targeted learning sessions, multi-functional networking, and direct engagement with leaders across the organization. By immersing interns in real-world challenges, we help them build the technical skills, confidence, and collaborative approach needed to envision a long-term, impactful career at Cisco.
Your Impact
You'll solve real problems from day one by designing, building, and shipping the APIs and applications that power our platforms. You'll write clean, maintainable back-end code, designing RESTful services and distributed architectures alongside your team, with opportunities to contribute to front-end systems as projects demand. When challenges arise, you'll troubleshoot together to sharpen your engineering instincts. By developing and maintaining scalable software, you enable our business groups to leverage reliable services, ensuring we deliver high-impact technology solutions that connect the world.
Minimum Qualifications
- Currently enrolled in one of the following:
- An undergraduate degree program (Associate's or Bachelor's)with 2 years of work experience; or
- A Master’s degree programwith 0 years of work experience.
- Qualifying education and work experience should be in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.
- Expected to continue enrollment in degree program following completion of the internship.
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, or Go
- Experience building or supporting software applications or services, including APIs
- Familiarity with core software engineering workflows, tools, and development environments such as Git and Linux
- Proficiency in two or more of: JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, or React, with UI/UX principles awareness
- Experience applying Object-Oriented Programming principles, with exposure to C/C++ or JavaScript
- Hands-on experience with RESTful services, distributed systems, or microservices
- Exposure to a cloud platform (AWS, Azure, GCP) and/or deployment or automation tooling (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Docker, Kubernetes)
- Exposure to networking fundamentals (L2/L3, TCP/IP), cloud security, or DevOps/DevSecOps practices
Why Cisco?
At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.
Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.
We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.
Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:
Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.
U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks. Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.
U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco’s policies:
- 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
- 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco
- Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees
- Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)
- 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to the next
- Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members
- Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer
Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:
- .75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;
- 1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;
- 1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and
- Once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.
The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:
New York City Metro Area:
$44,000.00 - $185,000.00Non-Metro New York state& Washington state:
$44,000.00 - $185,000.00* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.
** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.
See All 347+ Backend Engineer Jobs in San Jose
Find roles in San Jose that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Backend Engineer JobsBackend Engineer Job Market in San Jose
Who's Hiring
- TikTok198

- ByteDance50

- Cisco28

- Adobe14

- Figure7

Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Consulting & Professional Services
Backend Engineer Jobs in San Jose: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a backend engineer job in San Jose?
The fastest path in San Jose is targeting the semiconductor, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise SaaS companies concentrated in North San Jose and the Downtown core. Employers there prioritize depth in distributed systems, API design, and high-throughput data pipelines. Candidates who can demonstrate production experience with Java, Go, or Python, and who have contributed to systems at scale, move to the front of the queue in this market.
Which companies hire backend engineers in San Jose?
San Jose backend engineer roles are posted by TikTok, ByteDance, and Cisco and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. San Jose's employer mix runs from large semiconductor manufacturers and enterprise software vendors to mid-size SaaS and fintech companies with engineering offices in the North San Jose corridor.
Are there remote backend engineer jobs in San Jose?
Yes, backend engineering is among the more remote-friendly disciplines since the work centers on code, APIs, and systems rather than physical infrastructure. About 30% of backend engineer openings tied to San Jose are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, with hybrid arrangements most common among the enterprise and SaaS employers headquartered in North San Jose and the Downtown area.
How can I get a backend engineer job in San Jose with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in San Jose is landing a junior or associate software engineer role at one of the mid-size SaaS or fintech companies in the North San Jose corridor, which tend to run structured onboarding programs. Building a portfolio of personal or open-source projects using REST APIs or microservices, and targeting companies with graduate hiring programs, gives candidates without professional experience a concrete foothold in this market.
Which industries hire the most backend engineers in San Jose?
The sectors hiring the most backend engineers in San Jose are Technology & Software and Consulting & Professional Services, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. San Jose's role as a hub for semiconductor design, cloud services, and enterprise software means backend engineers here are disproportionately building the foundational systems that other technology products depend on.
Related Jobs in California
See All 347+ Backend Engineer Jobs in San Jose
Find roles in San Jose that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Backend Engineer Jobs