Staff Software Engineer Jobs in Los Angeles, CA
Staff Software Engineer jobs in Los Angeles are concentrated in entertainment technology, fintech, e-commerce, and enterprise SaaS, with hiring clusters in Playa Vista, Santa Monica, and Downtown LA. Demand is strong across startups and scaled tech companies alike, and employers actively hiring right now include Riot Games, Riot Games, and Commure. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 71+ Staff Software Engineer 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 Engineer Jobs in Los Angeles
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Find Staff Software Engineer JobsStaff Software Engineer 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 Engineer Jobs in Los Angeles: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a staff software engineer job in Los Angeles?
Focus on the sectors that dominate Los Angeles hiring: streaming and media technology in Playa Vista, fintech and insurtech in Century City and Westwood, and e-commerce and logistics tech in the South Bay. Candidates who demonstrate system design depth and cross-functional leadership stand out, since most Los Angeles staff roles carry meaningful scope. Targeting mid-size growth-stage companies alongside the larger tech employers broadens your options considerably.
Which companies hire staff software engineers in Los Angeles?
Employers hiring staff software engineers in Los Angeles right now include Riot Games, Riot Games, and Commure, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of June 2026. The Los Angeles market is a mix of entertainment technology giants, venture-backed startups, and regional fintech and healthcare technology firms.
Are there remote staff software engineer jobs in Los Angeles?
Yes, though availability depends on the employer and team structure. About 26% of staff software engineer openings tied to Los Angeles are remote or hybrid as of June 2026, which reflects the desk-based, collaborative nature of most staff-level engineering work. Backend infrastructure and platform roles tied to media and e-commerce companies in Los Angeles tend to offer the most remote flexibility.
How can I get a staff software engineer job in Los Angeles with little or no experience?
The most realistic path into a staff-level role in Los Angeles is building visible scope at a mid-level position first, particularly at one of the city's many growth-stage startups in Culver City or the Westside tech corridor, where engineers often take on staff-equivalent responsibilities earlier. Participating in Los Angeles-based engineering communities and meetups, and contributing to open-source projects with demonstrable distributed systems or platform work, accelerates the move into staff-scoped roles at local employers.
Which industries hire the most staff software engineers in Los Angeles?
Most staff software engineer openings in Los Angeles sit in Technology & Software, Insurance, and Manufacturing, per current listings on Migrate Mate as of June 2026. Los Angeles's unique mix of entertainment conglomerates, direct-to-consumer brands, and a fast-growing fintech and healthtech ecosystem drives unusually broad demand for staff engineers who can operate at scale.
Related Jobs in California
See All 71 Staff Software Engineer Jobs in Los Angeles
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