Government and defense jobs in California
301 open roles for people who work with government and defense in California as of Nov 15, 2026. Anduril Industries, SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Esri and Palantir have the most. 15 are remote and the median advertised salary is $188K.
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Skills asked for in government and defense roles in California
Bars show the share of these 301 roles; one role can count in several rows.
- Platform Software Security Engineer, Air DefenseAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Irvine, California, United States$167K - $222KRustC++Linux
- Technical Program Manager, Air Defense (SIP)Anduril Industries · 🇺🇸Irvine, California, United States$167K - $222KJiraComputer VisionSecurity clearance
- Senior Account Executive - Public Sector (SLED West)New Relic · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, California, USA; Portland, Oregon, USA; Sacr…$285K - $320KSeniorPipeline management
- Senior Network Software Engineer I - Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$132K - $198KSeniorDockerJiraAgile
- Senior Network Software Engineer II - Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$151K - $227KSeniorDockerJiraAgile
- Government Cloud Security EngineerxAI · 🇺🇸Austin, TX; New York, NY; Palo Alto, CA; Washington, DC$100K - $198KTerraformAzureLinux
- Quality Engineer - Aerospace & DefenseMachina Labs · 🇺🇸Chatsworth, CA—Six Sigma certificationFedRAMPERP
- Quality Inspector - Aerospace and DefenseMachina Labs · 🇺🇸Chatsworth, CA—ERPGD&TBlueprint reading
- Account Executive, NavyScale AI · 🇺🇸San Diego, CA; Washington, DC$203K - $254KRAGComputer VisionSecurity clearance
- Customer Activation Manager, Public SectorRamp · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA$122K - $184KHybridSAPWorkdayPMP
- Government CounselXona Space · 🇺🇸Burlingame, California$190K - $240KAgile
- Director/Senior Manager, Government AffairsVerkada · 🇺🇸San Mateo, CA United States$205K - $265KLead and above
- Distinguished Chair for Space Defense PolicyRAND · 🇺🇸Washington, DC (DC Metro Area); Pittsburgh, PA; Santa Mon…$172K - $283KSecurity clearance
- Sales Account Executive - SLED - CaliforniaZscaler · 🇺🇸Remote - California, USA$121K - $172KRemoteLLMAgile
- Executive Vice President, Engineering — Space, Defense & National SecurityVoyager Technologies, Inc. · 🇺🇸Denver, CO; Long Beach, CA$290K - $340KLead and above
- Director, Customer Success, GovernmentCheckr · 🇺🇸San Francisco, California, United States$233K - $274KLead and aboveSQLFedRAMPSpreadsheets
- Software Engineer, Sentry Software (Ground Based Air Defense)Anduril Industries · 🇺🇸Irvine, California, United States$167K - $222KRustPythonC++
- Technical Program Manager, Defense OSApplied · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale$180K - $225KJiraAgileSecurity clearance
- Network and Security Engineer, DefenseApplied · 🇺🇸Sunnyvale$150K - $200KGoPythonTerraform
- Vice President, Sales - Public Sector WestHello Heart · 🇺🇸Menlo Park, California, United States$169K - $190KLead and above
- IT Systems Administrator (Top Secret Clearance)SpaceX · 🇺🇸Hawthorne, CA$95K - $120KSQLLinuxSecurity clearance
- Sr. Forward Deployed Engineer - Public SectorDatabricks · 🇺🇸Alabama; Berkeley, California; Connecticut; Kansas City…$182K - $250KRemoteSeniorPythonTypeScriptJavaScript
- Deputy Program Manager, Air Defense - Middle EastAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Irvine, California, United States$147K - $196KJiraComputer VisionPMP
- Senior Pre-Sales Systems Engineer, SLED (San Francisco / East Bay)Pure Storage · 🇺🇸Remote, California$156K - $234KRemoteSeniorSQLGCPAzure
- Mission Operations Engineer, USMC (Active Clearance)Anduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$132K - $209KMachine LearningComputer VisionSecurity clearance
- Senior Analyst, Government ComplianceAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$101K - $135KSeniorComputer VisionAuditSensor fusion
- Post-Sales Associate Solution Consultant, SLED (West)Socure · 🇺🇸Hub - San Francisco$110K - $130KRemoteFraud preventionProject managementRisk management
- Enterprise Account Executive (Northern CA - Local Government)Verkada · 🇺🇸San Mateo, CA United States$240K - $300K
- Chief Engineer, USMC, Air DefenseAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Huntsville, Alabama, United States; Irvine, California, U…$220K - $292KLead and aboveComputer VisionSecurity clearanceSentry
- Sr. Avionics Systems Engineer (Special Programs) - Top Secret ClearanceSpaceX · 🇺🇸Hawthorne, CA$140K - $230KSeniorPythonC++MATLAB
- Avionics Systems Engineer (Special Programs) - Top Secret ClearanceSpaceX · 🇺🇸Hawthorne, CA$105K - $140KPythonC++MATLAB
- Deployment Lead, Air Defense, SOCOMAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Irvine, California, United States$112K - $154KLead and aboveComputer VisionSecurity clearanceSensor fusion
- GIS Solution Engineer - Local Government (California)Esri · 🇺🇸Sacramento, CA$79K - $131KPythonJavaScriptAzure
- Software Technical Project Manager - Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$135K - $180KDockerJiraAgile
- Applied AI Architect, Public Sector (State & Local Government)Anthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA$275K - $315KPythonMachine LearningLLM
- Partnership & Integration Program Manager, Connected Warfare (Active Clearance)Anduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$117K - $145KComputer VisionSecurity clearanceAccounts payable
- Ground Software Engineer, Top Secret ClearanceK2 Space · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA$123K - $150KRustGoTypeScript
- Senior Ground Software Engineer, Top Secret ClearanceK2 Space · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA$150K - $200KSeniorRustGoTypeScript
- Director, Business Development, Integrated Air & Missile DefenseAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$209K - $278KLead and aboveComputer VisionSecurity clearanceSensor fusion
- Director of Growth, Non-DefenseSaronic · 🇺🇸San Diego, CA$216K - $278KLead and aboveSecurity clearance
- Government Contracts and Regulatory LawyerValar Atomics · 🇺🇸Torrance, California, United States$220K - $260KSecurity clearanceNISTFedRAMP
- Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer I - Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$132K - $220KSeniorPythonJiraSecurity clearance
- Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer II - Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$162K - $270KSeniorPythonJiraSecurity clearance
- Principal Spacecraft GNC Engineer - Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$198K - $270KLead and aboveJiraSecurity clearanceQuantitative analysis
- Senior Flight Software Engineer I - Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$132K - $198KSeniorRustC++Linux
- Senior Flight Software Engineer II - Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$151K - $227KSeniorC++LinuxSecurity clearance
- Senior Cybersecurity Engineer II -Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$151K - $227KSeniorPythonGCPAzure
- Senior Cybersecurity Engineer I -Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$132K - $198KSeniorPythonGCPAzure
- Cybersecurity Engineer II - Secret ClearanceRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Long Beach, CA$108K - $148KPythonGCPAzure
- Manager, Classified IT OperationsAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$147K - $196KLinuxAnsibleComputer Vision
Showing the newest 50. See all 301 in search
Who is hiring for government and defense roles in California
Where government and defense roles in California are
- 🇺🇸United States301
- 🇺🇸California301
- 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area81
- 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA77
- 🇺🇸Washington, DC20
- 🇺🇸New York, NY13
- 🇺🇸Seattle, WA11
- 🇺🇸Denver, CO10
- 🇺🇸San Diego, CA6
- 🇺🇸Texas4
A role that lists several places is counted in each of them.
What government and defense roles in California pay, by level
| Level in the title | Median advertised salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| No level in the title | $170K | 136 |
| Senior | $189K | 77 |
| Lead and above | $227K | 62 |
Medians of the midpoints of advertised yearly US-dollar ranges; a level needs at least 15 such roles. Advertised, not verified pay.
Questions about government and defense jobs in California
- How many government and defense jobs in California are open right now?
- There are 301 open government and defense jobs in California at 66 companies on Jobs Every Hour as of Nov 15, 2026. 17 of them were posted in the last seven days. The list is rebuilt every hour from the employers' own careers pages.
- Which companies have the most government and defense jobs in California?
- Right now the most openings are at Anduril Industries (108), SpaceX (28), Rocket Lab (21), Esri (10) and Applied (9). The ranking changes as companies open and close roles.
- Are there remote government and defense jobs in California?
- 15 of the 301 open government and defense jobs in California (5%) are listed as remote. Remote roles are often limited to certain countries or time zones, so check the location line of each job.
- What do government and defense jobs in California pay?
- The median advertised salary is $188K, based on 277 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range. The middle half of those roles advertise between $156K and $222K. These are advertised ranges, not verified pay. Most employers here are technology companies, so the figures run above the wider market for the same work.
- Is it hard to get one of the government and defense jobs in California?
- 8 of the 301 open government and defense jobs in California (3%) are for beginners: junior roles and internships. Of the 207 postings that state experience, the median asks for 5 years. 66 companies are hiring and 17 roles were posted in the last seven days. Matching your resume to the skills each posting names helps most; the free resume builder shows the match.
- How is AI changing government and defense jobs in California?
- 134 of the 301 open government and defense jobs in California (45%) ask for AI or machine-learning skills, most often Computer Vision, LLM, Machine Learning. Employers still list 301 such roles today at 66 companies. Counted from the postings' own text on Nov 15, 2026.
- What skills do government and defense jobs in California ask for?
- Most often Security clearance (67%), Computer Vision (37%), Sensor fusion (36%), Python (33%), C++ (15%) of the 301 open postings, counted from their own text on Nov 15, 2026.
- Which job titles come up most in government and defense jobs in California?
- Software Engineer (16), Systems Engineer (8), Director (7), Senior Software Engineer (5), Technical Program Manager (4): the most common titles among the 301 open roles, without the level and place notes in brackets.
- Are government and defense jobs in California in demand in 2026?
- 301 government and defense jobs in California are open on Jobs Every Hour today at 66 companies, 0.2% of all 148,162 open jobs here; 17 were posted in the last seven days. The median advertised salary is $188K. 15 (5%) can be done remotely.
- How do I apply for government and defense jobs in California?
- Open a job and press “Apply on company site”. You go straight to the employer's own careers page and apply there. Jobs Every Hour needs no account and charges nothing for applying.
More like Government and defense jobs in California
- Government and defense jobs 1,716
- Jobs in California 28,322
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