Staff Software Developer Jobs in Los Angeles, CA
Staff Software Developer jobs in Los Angeles are in strong demand, with openings concentrated in Silicon Beach, Playa Vista, and Downtown LA across entertainment technology, e-commerce, fintech, and aerospace software. Employers hiring right now include Riot Games, Riot Games, and Commure. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
Find Staff Software Developer JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 71+ Staff Software Developer jobs
INTRODUCTION
Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver™—to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.
The Driver Understanding and Evaluation (DUE) team at Waymo is developing rich metrics for understanding the behavior of the Waymo Driver in the real world, and technologies such as context and scene analysis to understand driving, understanding and augmenting real world driving data to generate rare driving events, build large scale data infrastructure, improve components such as agents and a realistic simulator. These technologies come together to drive the overall technical strategy and methodology used to evaluate the behavior of the Waymo Driver.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
You will:
- Own the architectural design and hands-on development of robust Agentic AI components, focusing on multi-agent orchestration, tool execution, and reasoning loops for event triage.
- Engineer scalable agentic workflows using modern LLM orchestration frameworks to automate and augment triage capabilities for Engineering and SWQOps.
- Implement stateful agentic infrastructure, including long-term memory management (RAG, vector databases), semantic routing, and custom internal tool integrations.
- Collaborate with partner teams to embed autonomous agents directly into the Waymo Driver evaluation lifecycle.
- Tackle complex automation problems by breaking them down into actionable multi-agent projects and driving the technical execution of the team's roadmap.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
You have:
- Significant experience (typically 5+ years) in software engineering, with a focus on designing, building, and maintaining complex distributed systems.
- Strong expertise in applied LLMs and Agentic AI development, with a proven track record of building multi-agent systems, reasoning engines, or autonomous workflows.
- Strong proficiency with agent orchestration frameworks and advanced prompt engineering.
- Proven ability to execute on technical strategy, collaborate inclusively with cross-functional teams, and drive end-to-end development of AI-native applications.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clarify technical limitations and solutions for partner teams.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
We prefer:
- Master's or PhD in Computer Science or a related field, with a specialization in AI/ML or a related area.
- Experience developing custom tools/plugins for agents, semantic routers, and implementing complex multi-agent collaborative patterns.
- Familiarity with autonomous vehicle simulation, testing, or evaluation domains.
- Proficiency in C++ and Python, with experience building production-grade microservices and pipelines.
- Experience working with large-scale data processing, knowledge graphs, and distributed systems.
- Familiarity with Google's or Waymo's internal AI/ML platforms and infrastructure.
COMPENSATION
The expected base salary range for this full-time position across US locations is listed below. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the role location or, if the role can be performed remote, the specific salary range for your preferred location, during the hiring process.
- Salary Range: $251,000—$310,000 USD
Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.
LOCATION
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
JOB TYPE
FULL-TIME
WORKING CONDITIONS
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
INTRODUCTION
Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver™—to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.
The Driver Understanding and Evaluation (DUE) team at Waymo is developing rich metrics for understanding the behavior of the Waymo Driver in the real world, and technologies such as context and scene analysis to understand driving, understanding and augmenting real world driving data to generate rare driving events, build large scale data infrastructure, improve components such as agents and a realistic simulator. These technologies come together to drive the overall technical strategy and methodology used to evaluate the behavior of the Waymo Driver.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
You will:
- Own the architectural design and hands-on development of robust Agentic AI components, focusing on multi-agent orchestration, tool execution, and reasoning loops for event triage.
- Engineer scalable agentic workflows using modern LLM orchestration frameworks to automate and augment triage capabilities for Engineering and SWQOps.
- Implement stateful agentic infrastructure, including long-term memory management (RAG, vector databases), semantic routing, and custom internal tool integrations.
- Collaborate with partner teams to embed autonomous agents directly into the Waymo Driver evaluation lifecycle.
- Tackle complex automation problems by breaking them down into actionable multi-agent projects and driving the technical execution of the team's roadmap.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
You have:
- Significant experience (typically 5+ years) in software engineering, with a focus on designing, building, and maintaining complex distributed systems.
- Strong expertise in applied LLMs and Agentic AI development, with a proven track record of building multi-agent systems, reasoning engines, or autonomous workflows.
- Strong proficiency with agent orchestration frameworks and advanced prompt engineering.
- Proven ability to execute on technical strategy, collaborate inclusively with cross-functional teams, and drive end-to-end development of AI-native applications.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clarify technical limitations and solutions for partner teams.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
We prefer:
- Master's or PhD in Computer Science or a related field, with a specialization in AI/ML or a related area.
- Experience developing custom tools/plugins for agents, semantic routers, and implementing complex multi-agent collaborative patterns.
- Familiarity with autonomous vehicle simulation, testing, or evaluation domains.
- Proficiency in C++ and Python, with experience building production-grade microservices and pipelines.
- Experience working with large-scale data processing, knowledge graphs, and distributed systems.
- Familiarity with Google's or Waymo's internal AI/ML platforms and infrastructure.
COMPENSATION
The expected base salary range for this full-time position across US locations is listed below. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the role location or, if the role can be performed remote, the specific salary range for your preferred location, during the hiring process.
- Salary Range: $251,000—$310,000 USD
Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.
LOCATION
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
JOB TYPE
FULL-TIME
WORKING CONDITIONS
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
See All 71 Staff Software Developer Jobs in Los Angeles
Find roles in Los Angeles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Staff Software Developer JobsStaff Software Developer Job Market in Los Angeles
Who's Hiring
- Riot Games19
- Commure7
- Discord3
- inversion3I
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software40
- Insurance3
- Manufacturing3
- Gaming & Esports3
- Media & Entertainment3
Staff Software Developer Jobs in Los Angeles: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a staff software developer job in Los Angeles?
Focus your search on Silicon Beach and Playa Vista, where entertainment technology, streaming, and consumer app companies cluster alongside e-commerce and adtech firms. Aerospace and defense contractors in El Segundo and the South Bay also hire steadily at the staff level. Candidates who show experience with large-scale distributed systems or media platform engineering stand out in the Los Angeles market, where those specialties are consistently in demand.
Which companies hire staff software developers in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles staff software developer roles are posted by Riot Games, Riot Games, and Commure and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of June 2026. The local employer mix is unusually broad, ranging from major streaming and entertainment platforms to aerospace primes, fintech startups, and retail technology companies headquartered in the area.
Are there remote staff software developer jobs in Los Angeles?
Yes, and software development at the staff level is well suited to remote and hybrid arrangements given the nature of the work. About 26% of staff software developer openings tied to Los Angeles are remote or hybrid as of June 2026, reflecting how widely distributed engineering teams have become. Backend and platform engineering roles tend to offer the most flexibility, while roles tied to on-site hardware or media production workflows are more likely to require in-person presence.
How can I get a staff software developer job in Los Angeles with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path locally is through an associate or junior software engineer role at one of the many mid-size startups in Silicon Beach or Culver City, which tend to promote from within and value demonstrated project work over credentials alone. Contributing to open-source projects, building a portfolio with deployed applications, and connecting with the Los Angeles tech meetup community all help candidates break in. Bootcamp graduates who specialize in areas like mobile or cloud infrastructure find stronger footing here than in markets dominated by a single industry.
Which industries hire the most staff software developers in Los Angeles?
The sectors hiring the most staff software developers in Los Angeles are Technology & Software, Insurance, and Manufacturing, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of June 2026. Los Angeles's unusual combination of entertainment, aerospace, and consumer technology companies creates consistent demand across industries that rarely overlap in other major metro markets.
Related Jobs in California
See All 71 Staff Software Developer Jobs in Los Angeles
Find roles in Los Angeles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Staff Software Developer Jobs