Software Engineer salary in California
Typical advertised pay for Software Engineer roles in California, from real job postings on FindRole.
Median advertised base salary
$214,000
Most postings fall between $180,500 and $235,750.
Based on 775 postings across 63 companies. Updated September 10, 2026.
As of September 2026, the median advertised base salary for Software Engineer roles in California is $214,000, based on 775 live job postings from 63 employers tracked by FindRole.
Published by FindRole · free to quote and reuse with attribution and a link to this page · how this is computed
Salary by seniority
| Level | 25th %ile | Median | 75th %ile | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $186,200 | $214,000 | $235,750 | 283 |
| Staff | $214,500 | $219,425 | $245,300 | 139 |
| Senior Staff | $190,250 | $249,025 | $261,950 | 24 |
| Principal | $214,500 | $252,500 | $319,500 | 61 |
| Lead | $192,500 | $215,000 | $216,300 | 17 |
| Not specified | $145,000 | $187,850 | $214,000 | 229 |
Top companies hiring Software Engineers
- Apple Inc 151 postings · median $214,000
- SpaceX 76 postings · median $145,000
- Walmart 64 postings · median $214,500
- Nvidia 56 postings · median $235,750
- Anduril Industries 46 postings · median $222,000
- Qualcomm 34 postings · median $176,000
- PayPal 32 postings · median $188,169
- Snap Inc. 22 postings · median $286,000
Open Software Engineer roles right now
The postings these numbers come from — see all Software Engineer jobs.
- Principal Software Engineer Intuit · Mountain View, CA View →
- Senior Staff Software Engineer Intuit · Mountain View, CA View →
- Senior Software Engineer CoStar Group · Irvine, CA View →
- Software Engineer - AI, Evaluation Apple Inc · Cupertino, CA View →
- Software Engineer, 3D Vision & Perception Apple Inc · Sunnyvale, CA View →
- Software Engineer, Developer Relations Apple Inc · Sunnyvale, CA View →
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Create a free accountThese figures are the midpoint of the advertised salary range on real Software Engineer job postings indexed by FindRole — employer-stated base pay, not total compensation (they exclude equity and bonuses), and they reflect the roles we index rather than the whole market. A guide, not a guarantee.