Data Engineer Jobs in California
Data Engineer jobs in California are among the most active in the country, concentrated in technology, financial services, entertainment, and life sciences, with openings at every level from entry-level data associate through principal and staff engineer. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego lead hiring volumes, anchored by large employers like Google, Meta, and Kaiser Permanente that maintain significant engineering operations across the state. The most in-demand specialties right now are cloud data platform engineering, real-time streaming pipelines, and machine learning infrastructure. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Do you want to help build some of the largest and most consequential enterprise and customer technology systems in the world? Join Apple’s Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) organization.
IS&T is the engine behind everything Apple does for customers and for the people who build for them. It’s Apple’s central nervous system. Supporting 2.5 billion active Apple devices, processing billions of secure transactions, and keeping the technology that defines modern life running flawlessly, IS&T makes the impossible feel effortless.”
Do you love building solutions to handle global complexity and immense scale? Imagine what you could do here.
Infrastructure Services is part of IS&T and the foundation of Apple's global network operations - managing data center equipment and systems to deliver compute, storage, and networking services for teams across Apple, including its internal developer community. From individual facilities to a worldwide network, Infrastructure Services ensures the technology underneath everything works without question.
Description
We are looking for passionate engineers who love building super-scalable, reliable, and high-performance systems to support one of the world’s largest cloud infrastructures. In this role, you will design, build, and operate next-generation services that power virtualized networks, computing, and storage. Operating at our global scale presents unique challenges that demand radical engineering innovations.
If you are excited about working close to the packet, optimizing line-rate forwarding pipelines from scratch, and solving complex distributed systems problems, our team is the place for you.","responsibilities":"Dataplane Architecture & Development: Design, implement, and optimize high-throughput, ultra-low-latency packet processing systems, forwarding engines, and overlay network services (e.g., VXLAN, Geneve, NAT, Load Balancing).
System Design & High-Performance Coding: Build modular, resilient, and performant systems leveraging efficient data structures, lock-free concurrency, and hardware/software acceleration.
Control Plane Integration: Collaborate closely with control plane and distributed systems teams to build clean, performant APIs (gRPC, REST) for state distribution and policy enforcement.
Operational Excellence & Incident Triage: Maintain line-of-sight on production health; debug live incidents using packet captures, telemetry, metrics, and logs to identify root cause and implement long-term mitigations.
Automation & Delivery: Utilize modern CI/CD, Git workflows, and configuration management tools to reliably deliver software against bold deadlines.
Preferred Qualifications
8+ years experience with kernel-bypass/accelerated packet processing technologies (e.g., DPDK, XDP, eBPF, VPP, OVS or P4).
BS or MS in Computer Science or equivalent experience.
Familiarity with hardware offload architectures (SmartNICs, ASICs) and network virtualization.
Hands-on experience developing large-scale distributed cloud infrastructure services.
Minimum Qualifications
Strong proficiency in systems programming languages such as C++, Go, or C (experience with Java or modern scripting languages like Python is also valued).
Solid foundation in Computer Science fundamentals: advanced data structures, algorithms, memory management, and concurrency.
Deep knowledge of Networking Fundamentals & Dataplane internals: L2-L4 protocols, TCP/IP stack behavior, packet framing/encapsulation, routing, MTU/MSS, flow tables, and QoS/traffic shaping.
Experience with source control (Git) and modern build/configuration management tools.
Experience designing and optimizing scalable network data plane components, packet forwarding paths, or kernel/userspace networking subsystems.
Understanding of microservice architectures, asynchronous communication, and API design (REST, gRPC, Protobuf).
Proven ability to analyze and debug complex live production incidents under pressure using metrics, traces, and system logs.
Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills with the drive to take ownership and lead projects to closure.
Pay & Benefits
At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $184,700 and $324,800, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple's discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple's Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You'll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses - including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits
Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.
See All 656+ Data Engineer Jobs in California
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Find Data Engineer JobsData Engineer Jobs by City in California
Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Data Engineer Job Market in California
A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
- Apple53

- TikTok30

- Tesla28

- Google17

- Meta16

Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software60
- Electronics & Hardware29
- Science & Research10
- Banking & Financial Services8
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals8
What California Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in data engineer jobs across California.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, data science, or a related field
- Proficiency in SQL and at least one scripting language such as Python or Scala
- Hands-on experience with cloud data platforms including AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure
- Experience building and maintaining data pipelines using tools like Apache Spark or Airflow
- Familiarity with data warehousing solutions such as BigQuery, Snowflake, or Redshift
- Strong understanding of data modeling, ETL processes, and distributed systems architecture
Data Engineer Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a data engineer in California?
Data engineering in California has no state-issued license or registration requirement, so the path runs through education and demonstrated technical skill. Most California employers expect at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, or engineering, though strong bootcamp graduates with portfolio projects do get hired. Building proficiency in SQL, Python, and a major cloud platform is the core foundation, and earning a cloud certification from Google, AWS, or Azure adds meaningful weight to an application in the California market.
Which companies hire data engineers in California?
Employers hiring data engineers in California right now include Apple, TikTok, and Tesla, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. California's concentration of technology headquarters and large healthcare systems means demand stays consistent across both high-growth startups and established enterprise organizations throughout the year.
Which California cities have the most data engineer jobs?
San Francisco, San Jose, and Palo Alto have the most data engineer openings in California right now. The San Francisco Bay Area drives the largest share due to its density of technology companies and cloud infrastructure firms, while Los Angeles hiring reflects growth in entertainment technology, fintech, and healthcare data, and San Diego's concentration of biotech and defense contractors sustains steady demand independent of the broader tech cycle.
Are there remote data engineer jobs in California?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 57% of data engineer openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how naturally the work translates to distributed environments. Pipeline development, data modeling, and cloud infrastructure tasks are the most consistently offered remotely, while roles that involve close collaboration with on-site analytics or machine learning teams tend to carry at least a hybrid expectation.
How can I get hired as a data engineer in California with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is securing an associate or junior data engineer role, often reached by transitioning from a data analyst, business intelligence analyst, or software engineering position where you can demonstrate pipeline or SQL work. Large California employers like Kaiser Permanente, Oracle, and major Bay Area technology firms run new-graduate rotational and apprenticeship programs that accept candidates without professional data engineering titles. Building a portfolio of end-to-end pipeline projects on a public code repository and earning a cloud platform certification from Google or AWS gives California hiring managers a concrete signal when your work history is thin.
Where can I find and apply to data engineer jobs in California?
You can find and apply to data engineer jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings across the state updated in real time. Search by city or region to see roles in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, or elsewhere in California, then find the roles that fit your background and apply directly.
See All 656+ Data Engineer Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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