Senior Fullstack Software Engineer Jobs in California
Senior Fullstack Software Engineer jobs in California are among the most active in the country, with strong demand concentrated in enterprise software, fintech, healthtech, and consumer technology across every seniority level from mid-level to staff and principal engineer. The Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego anchor most of the hiring, where established names like Google, Salesforce, and Apple consistently fill senior fullstack roles. React and Node.js paired with cloud infrastructure expertise are the most sought-after specialties across California listings. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 315+ Senior Fullstack Software Engineer jobs
About Shield AI:
Shield AI is a defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. We build autonomy systems for air, maritime, space, and other platforms operating in complex and contested environments.
Forge is the engineering platform used to build, integrate, test, and operate Hivemind capabilities. It connects autonomy developers with the applications, services, compute, data, and workflows they need to move from local development to deployed systems.
Job Description:
We are looking for a full-stack engineer interested in customer-facing products, developer tools, and AI-assisted workflows. You will partner with internal subject-matter experts to build an extensible application platform and complete applications on it.
Shield AI’s Hivemind developers are the platform’s primary design partners and proving ground. Forge is also designed for external engineering teams to adopt, extend, and integrate into their own environments.
You will help evolve Forge into an integrated engineering environment with shared foundations for APIs, user interfaces, extensions, model integrations, and agent tools. Working across frontend architecture, backend services, platform contracts, and deployment, you will validate the platform through real workflows. Your work will help engineers understand complex systems, develop autonomy software, investigate failures, and deliver reliable capabilities faster.
What you'll do:
- Build and operate a full-stack platform embedded in the workflows used to train, validate, and deploy the AI Pilot.
- Design a composable UI architecture that lets applications contribute widgets, dashboards, commands, and shared resource context.
- Define typed, versioned contracts between the platform and independently developed Forge applications.
- Create workflows for teams to package, publish, configure, install, upgrade, and disable applications.
- Enable Forge’s native AI experiences and external agent harnesses to understand active context, invoke authorized tools, navigate applications, and compose dashboards.
- Deliver consistent application behavior across local-development and remote-cluster environments.
- Partner with simulation, autonomy, and ML subject-matter experts to build initial applications, validate the platform against real workflows, and incorporate what you learn.
- Work across infrastructure, security, product, and design to shape the platform’s architecture and engineering practices.
Key outcomes:
- Applications behave consistently across local-development and remote-cluster environments, even when their deployment and service lifecycles differ.
- Application developers can move quickly using clear contracts, examples, documentation, and authoring guides.
- Hivemind teams can develop, integrate, test, and diagnose autonomy capabilities more quickly using Forge applications and platform services.
- Users can combine applications, tools, and shared context into persistent workflows tailored to their needs and share those workflows within their organization.
- Internal teams and external customers can build integrated Forge applications that extend these workflows without modifying the core platform.
- Forge’s embedded AI and external agent harnesses can explore and operate the same catalog of platform tools through shared contracts.
Required qualifications:
- Experience owning production full-stack applications from design and implementation through rollout and support.
- Strong proficiency with TypeScript and React or an equivalent modern web stack.
- Experience building production backend services in Go, Python, Rust, or a comparable language.
- Experience designing typed, versioned APIs and contracts between independently deployed components.
- Strong knowledge of web and distributed-system architecture, including state management, routing, asynchronous communication, browser security, authentication, authorization, and failure handling.
- Ability to build intuitive technical tools for engineers and test them at the unit, integration, and system levels.
- Sound judgment about when to extend an existing system, introduce an abstraction, or keep a solution intentionally small.
- Clear communication skills and the ability to work across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and product disciplines.
Preferred qualifications:
- Strong proficiency with TypeScript and React or an equivalent modern web stack.
- Experience building production backend services in Go, Python, Rust, or a comparable language.
- Experience designing typed, versioned APIs and contracts between independently deployed components.
- Strong knowledge of web and distributed-system architecture, including state management, routing, asynchronous communication, browser security, authentication, authorization, and failure handling.
- Ability to build intuitive technical tools for engineers and test them at the unit, integration, and system levels.
- Sound judgment about when to extend an existing system, introduce an abstraction, or keep a solution intentionally small.
- Clear communication skills and the ability to work across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and product disciplines.
Why join us:
- Connect your work directly to the mission. The platform and applications you build help engineers develop, validate, and deliver the autonomy software behind Hivemind.
- Define human-and-agent workflows. Design how engineers and AI agents use the same platform tools while preserving user control, security, and accountability.
- Own complete workflows. Work across user experience, frontend architecture, backend services, APIs, deployment, and operations.
- Build alongside engaged users. Partner with engineers solving autonomy, simulation, data, and infrastructure problems, and see the direct effect of your decisions.
Full-time regular employee offer package:
About Shield AI:
Shield AI is a defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. We build autonomy systems for air, maritime, space, and other platforms operating in complex and contested environments.
Forge is the engineering platform used to build, integrate, test, and operate Hivemind capabilities. It connects autonomy developers with the applications, services, compute, data, and workflows they need to move from local development to deployed systems.
Job Description:
We are looking for a full-stack engineer interested in customer-facing products, developer tools, and AI-assisted workflows. You will partner with internal subject-matter experts to build an extensible application platform and complete applications on it.
Shield AI’s Hivemind developers are the platform’s primary design partners and proving ground. Forge is also designed for external engineering teams to adopt, extend, and integrate into their own environments.
You will help evolve Forge into an integrated engineering environment with shared foundations for APIs, user interfaces, extensions, model integrations, and agent tools. Working across frontend architecture, backend services, platform contracts, and deployment, you will validate the platform through real workflows. Your work will help engineers understand complex systems, develop autonomy software, investigate failures, and deliver reliable capabilities faster.
What you'll do:
- Build and operate a full-stack platform embedded in the workflows used to train, validate, and deploy the AI Pilot.
- Design a composable UI architecture that lets applications contribute widgets, dashboards, commands, and shared resource context.
- Define typed, versioned contracts between the platform and independently developed Forge applications.
- Create workflows for teams to package, publish, configure, install, upgrade, and disable applications.
- Enable Forge’s native AI experiences and external agent harnesses to understand active context, invoke authorized tools, navigate applications, and compose dashboards.
- Deliver consistent application behavior across local-development and remote-cluster environments.
- Partner with simulation, autonomy, and ML subject-matter experts to build initial applications, validate the platform against real workflows, and incorporate what you learn.
- Work across infrastructure, security, product, and design to shape the platform’s architecture and engineering practices.
Key outcomes:
- Applications behave consistently across local-development and remote-cluster environments, even when their deployment and service lifecycles differ.
- Application developers can move quickly using clear contracts, examples, documentation, and authoring guides.
- Hivemind teams can develop, integrate, test, and diagnose autonomy capabilities more quickly using Forge applications and platform services.
- Users can combine applications, tools, and shared context into persistent workflows tailored to their needs and share those workflows within their organization.
- Internal teams and external customers can build integrated Forge applications that extend these workflows without modifying the core platform.
- Forge’s embedded AI and external agent harnesses can explore and operate the same catalog of platform tools through shared contracts.
Required qualifications:
- Experience owning production full-stack applications from design and implementation through rollout and support.
- Strong proficiency with TypeScript and React or an equivalent modern web stack.
- Experience building production backend services in Go, Python, Rust, or a comparable language.
- Experience designing typed, versioned APIs and contracts between independently deployed components.
- Strong knowledge of web and distributed-system architecture, including state management, routing, asynchronous communication, browser security, authentication, authorization, and failure handling.
- Ability to build intuitive technical tools for engineers and test them at the unit, integration, and system levels.
- Sound judgment about when to extend an existing system, introduce an abstraction, or keep a solution intentionally small.
- Clear communication skills and the ability to work across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and product disciplines.
Preferred qualifications:
- Strong proficiency with TypeScript and React or an equivalent modern web stack.
- Experience building production backend services in Go, Python, Rust, or a comparable language.
- Experience designing typed, versioned APIs and contracts between independently deployed components.
- Strong knowledge of web and distributed-system architecture, including state management, routing, asynchronous communication, browser security, authentication, authorization, and failure handling.
- Ability to build intuitive technical tools for engineers and test them at the unit, integration, and system levels.
- Sound judgment about when to extend an existing system, introduce an abstraction, or keep a solution intentionally small.
- Clear communication skills and the ability to work across frontend, backend, infrastructure, and product disciplines.
Why join us:
- Connect your work directly to the mission. The platform and applications you build help engineers develop, validate, and deliver the autonomy software behind Hivemind.
- Define human-and-agent workflows. Design how engineers and AI agents use the same platform tools while preserving user control, security, and accountability.
- Own complete workflows. Work across user experience, frontend architecture, backend services, APIs, deployment, and operations.
- Build alongside engaged users. Partner with engineers solving autonomy, simulation, data, and infrastructure problems, and see the direct effect of your decisions.
Full-time regular employee offer package:
See All 315+ Senior Fullstack Software Engineer Jobs in California
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Find JobsSenior Fullstack Software Engineer Jobs by City in California
Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Senior Fullstack Software Engineer Job Market in California
A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
- OpenAI18
- SpaceX16
- Rippling12
- Tesla9
- Apple7
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software42
- Science & Research10
- Aerospace & Defense6
- Consulting & Professional Services6
- Artificial Intelligence3
What California Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in senior fullstack software engineer jobs across California.
- Five or more years of fullstack development experience with modern JavaScript frameworks and backend languages
- Deep proficiency in React, Angular, or Vue paired with Node.js, Python, or Java on the backend
- Hands-on experience designing and maintaining RESTful or GraphQL APIs at production scale
- Proven ability to architect distributed systems and work with AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure
- Experience leading code reviews, mentoring junior engineers, and driving technical roadmap decisions
- Strong collaboration skills working cross-functionally with product managers and design teams in agile environments
Senior Fullstack Software Engineer Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a senior fullstack software engineer in California?
Most senior fullstack software engineers in California reach the role through a combination of a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field and several years of progressive engineering experience. California has no state-issued license for software engineers, so advancement depends on building depth across the stack, demonstrated ownership of large-scale systems, and a portfolio of shipped products. Many engineers in California also advance through internal promotions at tech companies, where moving from mid-level to senior typically requires leading a significant technical initiative end to end.
How much do senior fullstack software engineers make in California?
Senior fullstack software engineers in California earn a median of about $174,410 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $105,060 for the lowest 10% to over $272,670 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire senior fullstack software engineers in California?
Employers hiring senior fullstack software engineers in California right now include OpenAI, SpaceX, and Rippling, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. California's concentration of both large technology headquarters and high-growth startups means senior fullstack talent is in demand across a wide range of company sizes and industries.
Which California cities have the most senior fullstack software engineer jobs?
San Francisco, San Jose, and Hawthorne have the most senior fullstack software engineer openings in California. The Bay Area dominates because it is home to the headquarters of many of the world's largest technology companies, while Los Angeles draws significant hiring from entertainment technology, e-commerce, and a growing startup ecosystem, and San Diego's openings are largely driven by defense tech, biotech, and a cluster of established software firms.
Are there remote senior fullstack software engineer jobs in California?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 65% of senior fullstack software engineer openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how naturally the role lends itself to distributed work. Frontend and backend development, code reviews, and architecture planning are all well suited to remote arrangements, and many California-based technology employers have maintained flexible policies for senior individual contributors.
How can I get hired as a senior fullstack software engineer in California with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path into fullstack engineering in California starts with an associate or junior software engineer role, which is the foundation most large California employers use to grow senior talent. Companies like Google, Meta, and Salesforce run structured new-graduate programs that place candidates directly into product engineering teams. Bootcamp graduates and self-taught developers often move in through QA engineering, frontend development, or junior backend roles and build toward fullstack scope over time. A strong GitHub portfolio with deployed full-stack projects gives candidates a concrete edge when applying to California employers who screen on demonstrated output rather than credentials alone.
Where can I find and apply to senior fullstack software engineer jobs in California?
You can find and apply to senior fullstack software engineer jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current California openings across industries and company sizes. Find the roles that fit your background and apply directly from the listings.
See All 315+ Senior Fullstack Software Engineer Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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