Llm Engineer Jobs in California

Llm engineer jobs in California sit at the center of one of the most active AI hiring markets in the world, with demand concentrated in foundation model development, retrieval-augmented generation, and enterprise AI deployment at every level from junior engineer to principal. San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles account for the heaviest share of openings, anchored by employers like Google, Meta, and Salesforce, which maintain large California AI research and engineering teams. The most sought-after specializations are fine-tuning and alignment, inference optimization, and LLM-powered application architecture. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.

Find Llm Engineer Jobs

Overview

Open roles29+
Top employerByteDance
Top citySan Jose, CA
Cities hiring9
Work type90% On-site
Top industryTechnology

Showing 5 of 29+ Llm Engineer jobs

NVIDIA
High-Performance LLM Training Engineer
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NVIDIA
Added 1w ago
High-Performance LLM Training Engineer
NVIDIA
Santa Clara, California
Software Engineering
Data Science & Analytics
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
ML (Machine Learning)
Data Science
$124k - $196k/yr
On-Site
Master's

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NVIDIA
Senior High-Performance LLM Training Engineer
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NVIDIA
Added 1w ago
Senior High-Performance LLM Training Engineer
NVIDIA
Santa Clara, California
Software Engineering
Data Science & Analytics
Data Engineering
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Data Science
ML (Machine Learning)
$184k - $357k/yr
On-Site
Doctorate

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Anyscale
Distributed LLM Inference Engineer
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Anyscale
Added 3w ago
Distributed LLM Inference Engineer
Anyscale
San Francisco, California
Software Engineering
Data Science & Analytics
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
ML (Machine Learning)
Data Science
On-Site
None

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Apple
Applied LLM Research Engineer
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Apple
Added 3w ago
Applied LLM Research Engineer
Apple
Cupertino, California
Software Engineering
Data Science & Analytics
Data Engineering
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
ML (Machine Learning)
Data Science
$147k - $272k/yr
On-Site
Doctorate
10,000+

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NVIDIA
Principal High-Performance LLM Training Engineer
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NVIDIA
Added 1mo ago
Principal High-Performance LLM Training Engineer
NVIDIA
Santa Clara, California
Software Engineering
Data Science & Analytics
Cloud & DevOps
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
ML (Machine Learning)
Data Science
$272k - $431k/yr
On-Site
Doctorate
10,000+

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See All 29 Llm Engineer Jobs in California

Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.

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Llm Engineer Jobs by City in California

Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.

San Jose
11 jobs
Foster City
5 jobs
Mountain View
4 jobs
Santa Clara
4 jobs
Cupertino
1 jobs
Los Angeles
1 jobs
San Diego
1 jobs
San Francisco
1 jobs
Sunnyvale
1 jobs

Llm Engineer Job Market in California

A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.

Who's Hiring

  • ByteDance
    ByteDance5
  • Zoox
    Zoox5
  • TikTok
    TikTok4
  • Microsoft
    Microsoft3
  • NVIDIA
    NVIDIA3

Top Industries Hiring

  • Technology & Software13
  • Artificial Intelligence5
  • Automotive5
  • Media & Entertainment3
  • Social Media3

What California Employers Look For

The qualifications that appear most often in llm engineer jobs across California.

  • Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, AI, or a closely related technical field
  • Hands-on experience building or fine-tuning large language models using PyTorch or JAX
  • Proficiency in Python and familiarity with transformer architectures such as GPT or LLaMA
  • Experience deploying LLM applications via APIs, vector databases, or RAG pipelines
  • Ability to evaluate model performance and implement safety, alignment, or RLHF techniques
  • Familiarity with cloud infrastructure on AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure for model serving

Llm Engineer Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions

How do you become a llm engineer in California?

Most llm engineers in California enter through a computer science, data science, or electrical engineering degree, though a growing number transition from software engineering or ML research roles. No state license is required. California employers, especially in the Bay Area, weight demonstrated project experience heavily, so a portfolio showing fine-tuning experiments, open-source contributions, or published benchmarks often matters as much as formal credentials when applying.

Which companies hire llm engineers in California?

Employers hiring llm engineers in California right now include ByteDance, Zoox, and TikTok, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of June 2026. California's concentration of AI-native startups and large tech headquarters means openings range from early-stage model research roles to production-scale deployment positions at established platforms.

Which California cities have the most llm engineer jobs?

San Jose, Foster City, and Mountain View have the most llm engineer openings in California. San Francisco and San Jose dominate because of the Bay Area's density of AI labs, foundation model companies, and major tech headquarters, while Los Angeles has expanded rapidly as entertainment and enterprise software firms there invest in generative AI teams.

Are there remote llm engineer jobs in California?

Yes, and more than most fields. About 10% of llm engineer openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of June 2026, reflecting the desk-based and collaborative-tooling nature of the work. Roles focused on prompt engineering, evaluation pipelines, and API integration tend to be the most remote-friendly, while positions that require access to proprietary GPU clusters or on-site research teams are more likely to require in-person presence.

How can I get hired as a llm engineer in California with little or no experience?

The most realistic entry path is through an ML engineering or software engineering role at a California company that is actively building AI products, then moving into LLM-specific work once inside. Large California employers like Google and Meta run university new-grad programs that place candidates directly onto model and AI teams. Building a visible portfolio on GitHub, contributing to open-source projects like Hugging Face, and completing a recognized ML specialization credential gives candidates without industry experience a concrete edge in California screening processes.

Where can I find and apply to llm engineer jobs in California?

You can find and apply to llm engineer jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current California openings. Search the available roles, find the ones that fit your background and preferences, and apply directly to each position from the listing.

See All 29 Llm Engineer Jobs in California

Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.

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