Staff Software Developer Jobs in Palo Alto, CA
Staff Software Developer jobs in Palo Alto are in strong demand, concentrated along University Avenue, in the Stanford Research Park, and across the California Avenue corridor, with openings in enterprise software, AI infrastructure, and semiconductor design. Employers hiring right now include Rivian, Nubank, and Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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Showing 5 of 868+ Staff Software Developer jobs
Overview
At Ford, you’ll work on ideas that matter, alongside passionate people who want to make a global impact. Together, we’re shaping the next era of transportation—grounded in purpose, driven by progress. Make your move.
- Job Type: Full time
- Work Type: Hybrid
Ford’s Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the company’s vision of a fully electric transportation future. EVDD is customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, and data-driven and is dedicated to delivering industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. You’ll join an agile team of doers pioneering our EV future by working collaboratively, staying focused on only what matters, and delivering excellence day in and day out. Join us to make positive change by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.
What you'll do...
- Drive end-to-end integration, validation, and release readiness for IVI software across embedded platforms, middleware, multimedia, connectivity, and customer-facing applications.
- Support vehicle integration and powermoding efforts by increasing test coverage and integration support across vehicle programs.
- Partner with system engineers and development teams to integrate and validate assigned IVI features, including power-state transitions, sleep-wake behavior, recovery scenarios, and other system-level functionality.
- Develop and maintain automated test coverage for owned features, enabling repeatable validation across bench and vehicle environments.
- Design, build, and maintain test benches, vehicle instrumentation, diagnostics, logging tools, and supporting test infrastructure.
- Diagnose complex issues across software, hardware, ECUs, vehicle networks, and power states; perform root-cause analysis and work cross-functionally to drive resolution.
You'll have...
- 5+ years of experience integrating and testing complex software systems
- A strong grasp of software testing methodologies, different types of testing, and quality assurance processes.
- Experience working with version control systems, like Git.
- Familiarity with the concepts and tools used in CI/CD pipelines such as Jenkins, GitLab CI
- A track record of successfully debugging complex software and system problems.
- Excellent problem-solving abilities and a sharp eye for detail.
- Strong communication, interpersonal, and collaboration skills – you can clearly explain technical concepts and work effectively across teams.
- Bachelor’s degree or better in software engineering, computer science or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
Even better, you may have...
- Experience testing automotive infotainment systems or other complex embedded systems.
- Experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing or testing directly on physical automotive hardware or vehicles.
- Experience working with specific infotainment operating systems (like Android Automotive, Linux) or graphical user interface toolkits.
You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!
- Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
- Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
- Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
- Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
- Tuition assistance
- Established and active employee resource groups
- Paid time off for individual and team community service
- A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
- Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.
For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/LL6
Visa sponsorship is available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.
This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid
#LI-SL1 #UEV
Overview
At Ford, you’ll work on ideas that matter, alongside passionate people who want to make a global impact. Together, we’re shaping the next era of transportation—grounded in purpose, driven by progress. Make your move.
- Job Type: Full time
- Work Type: Hybrid
Ford’s Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the company’s vision of a fully electric transportation future. EVDD is customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, and data-driven and is dedicated to delivering industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. You’ll join an agile team of doers pioneering our EV future by working collaboratively, staying focused on only what matters, and delivering excellence day in and day out. Join us to make positive change by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.
What you'll do...
- Drive end-to-end integration, validation, and release readiness for IVI software across embedded platforms, middleware, multimedia, connectivity, and customer-facing applications.
- Support vehicle integration and powermoding efforts by increasing test coverage and integration support across vehicle programs.
- Partner with system engineers and development teams to integrate and validate assigned IVI features, including power-state transitions, sleep-wake behavior, recovery scenarios, and other system-level functionality.
- Develop and maintain automated test coverage for owned features, enabling repeatable validation across bench and vehicle environments.
- Design, build, and maintain test benches, vehicle instrumentation, diagnostics, logging tools, and supporting test infrastructure.
- Diagnose complex issues across software, hardware, ECUs, vehicle networks, and power states; perform root-cause analysis and work cross-functionally to drive resolution.
You'll have...
- 5+ years of experience integrating and testing complex software systems
- A strong grasp of software testing methodologies, different types of testing, and quality assurance processes.
- Experience working with version control systems, like Git.
- Familiarity with the concepts and tools used in CI/CD pipelines such as Jenkins, GitLab CI
- A track record of successfully debugging complex software and system problems.
- Excellent problem-solving abilities and a sharp eye for detail.
- Strong communication, interpersonal, and collaboration skills – you can clearly explain technical concepts and work effectively across teams.
- Bachelor’s degree or better in software engineering, computer science or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
Even better, you may have...
- Experience testing automotive infotainment systems or other complex embedded systems.
- Experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing or testing directly on physical automotive hardware or vehicles.
- Experience working with specific infotainment operating systems (like Android Automotive, Linux) or graphical user interface toolkits.
You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!
- Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
- Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
- Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
- Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
- Tuition assistance
- Established and active employee resource groups
- Paid time off for individual and team community service
- A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
- Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.
For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/LL6
Visa sponsorship is available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.
This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid
#LI-SL1 #UEV
See All 868+ Staff Software Developer Jobs in Palo Alto
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Find Staff Software Developer JobsStaff Software Developer Job Market in Palo Alto
Who's Hiring
- Rivian200
- Nubank167
- Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies100
- GEICO67
- Tesla67
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software167
- Automotive67
- Energy33
- Insurance33
- Manufacturing17
Staff Software Developer Jobs in Palo Alto: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a staff software developer job in Palo Alto?
The strongest approach is targeting Palo Alto's dense concentration of established tech companies, early-growth startups near University Avenue, and research-driven firms anchored around Stanford Research Park. Candidates with backend systems, distributed infrastructure, or AI and ML platform experience stand out in this market. Building visibility through open-source contributions, prior work at Bay Area companies, and direct outreach to engineering teams at Palo Alto-based employers consistently gives candidates an edge over generic applications.
Which companies hire staff software developers in Palo Alto?
Companies currently hiring staff software developers in Palo Alto include Rivian, Nubank, and Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies, per current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. The local employer mix ranges from large publicly traded technology companies with multi-team engineering organizations to venture-backed startups focused on enterprise SaaS, developer tools, and applied AI.
Are there remote staff software developer jobs in Palo Alto?
Yes, though fully remote arrangements are more common for product-facing and platform engineering roles than for hardware or lab-adjacent positions. About 75% of staff software developer openings tied to Palo Alto are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how Bay Area tech culture has settled into flexible work norms. Distributed systems, backend services, and developer tooling roles tend to offer the most remote flexibility among Palo Alto employers.
How can I get a staff software developer job in Palo Alto with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is joining a Palo Alto-area startup as a mid-level software engineer and growing into a staff role through scope expansion rather than applying for staff-level titles outright. Smaller venture-backed companies in the University Avenue ecosystem and Stanford spinouts frequently promote from within and offer early engineers broad ownership. Demonstrating systems thinking, a history of cross-team projects, and mentorship experience converts a mid-level background into a competitive staff-level profile locally.
Which industries hire the most staff software developers in Palo Alto?
Most staff software developer openings in Palo Alto sit in Technology & Software, Automotive, and Energy, per current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Palo Alto's proximity to Stanford University and its long-established position as a hub for enterprise technology and deep-tech investment drives sustained hiring demand across those sectors.
Related Jobs in California
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