Hiring a senior software engineer in San Francisco? Across 1,109 live senior software engineer postings in San Francisco, the market pays a $212K median salary (typically $194K–$238K). Recruiting from Scratch is the contingency technical recruiting firm for these hires — a 29-day average time to hire, 300+ placements, and a 2M+ candidate network.
A senior software engineer owns significant features and services end to end, makes sound architecture decisions, and mentors less-experienced engineers. Hiring one in San Francisco means competing with the companies below.
What employers actually screen for, aggregated across 1,109 active senior software engineer postings in San Francisco:
| Percentile | Base salary |
|---|---|
| 25th | $194K |
| Median | $212K |
| 75th | $238K |
Based on 887 senior software engineer postings in San Francisco that disclose pay. Base only — equity is typically on top.
San Francisco pays about 12% above the US median for this role ($190K).
Across the 661 senior software engineer postings in San Francisco that spell out responsibilities:
The companies with the most live senior software engineer openings in San Francisco, with what each pays and screens for (medians shown only where at least 3 postings disclose pay):
| Company | Open senior software engineer roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Top skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| 86 | $214K | Python, GCP, Model Deployment | |
| Roblox | 39 | $246K | Go, Python, Kubernetes |
| Waymo | 35 | $238K | Python, SQL, TensorFlow |
| CoreWeave | 25 | $204K | Kubernetes, Go, Python |
| Handshake | 22 | $238K | AWS, GCP, TypeScript |
| Nuro | 21 | $194K | Python, Redis, Go |
| Databricks | 17 | $196K | Spark, Databricks, Java |
| Commure | 16 | $205K | Python, Kubernetes, Docker |
| CommodityAI | 15 | $200K | — |
| Decagon | 14 | $300K | Kubernetes, Terraform, CI/CD |
Where the senior software engineer demand sits across funding stages, across the 150 companies with the most live openings in San Francisco:
| Stage | Companies hiring | Open roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 11 | 124 | $214K | Google, Speechify, DayDream |
| Series A | 10 | 39 | $243K | Nooks, Scale AI, Nectar Social |
| Series B | 14 | 56 | $230K | Streamlit, Unify, Ditto |
| Series C | 14 | 49 | $210K | NexHealth, Parafin, Hayden AI |
| Series D+ | 49 | 285 | $216K | Waymo, Handshake, Nuro |
| Public | 30 | 200 | $215K | Roblox, CoreWeave, Applied Digital |
A further 22 of those companies have no funding stage on file and are not shown above.
Recruiting from Scratch is a contingency technical recruiting firm — no retainer and no upfront cost, so you pay only when you make a hire. The process: align on the role and must-haves → a curated shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified senior software engineers (not resume volume) → a 29-day average time to hire versus the 49-day industry average → a 90-day replacement guarantee. Backed by 300+ placements, a 2M+ candidate network, and named hires at companies like Decagon and Mercor.
A senior software engineer owns significant features and services end to end, makes sound architecture decisions, and mentors less-experienced engineers.
What salary does a senior software engineer in San Francisco command in 2026?Across 1,109 live postings in San Francisco, a $212K median salary (typically $194K–$238K) — base only; equity is typically on top. Most postings expect 5+ years of experience.
What should you look for when hiring a senior software engineer?Depth in the skills these postings require (Python, AWS, Go, Java, React, Kubernetes, TypeScript, GCP), plus depth in production systems, strong code and design judgment, and the ability to own work end to end. Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified candidates, not resume volume.
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