Senior Software Engineer, Build Infrastructure at Zoox
Seattle, WA
$208,000–$263,000
Jul 9, 2026
Seattle, WA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role centers on owning and advancing a Bazel-based build system within a large, multi-language monorepo used by hundreds of engineers working on autonomous vehicle software. Day-to-day work includes optimizing build pipelines, configuring compilers, writing custom Bazel rules in Starlark, integrating code-quality tools, and building dashboards to improve developer productivity. It suits an experienced build-systems engineer with at least four years of hands-on Bazel expertise.
Senior level · 8+ years · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA · Bachelor's required · Full-time
Pay in the description: $208,000–$263,000
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 160 people in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 120–250
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $217,796 (middle half $177,469–$231,052). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (6)
The JD requires a Bachelor's degree in engineering, mathematics, or a related field — equivalent experience is not offered as a substitute, so the degree is treated as a hard gate.
Bazel is listed as a hard requirement with a 4-year minimum; Buck and Pants are explicitly named as acceptable alternatives, so they are captured as such rather than as separate skills.
Starlark (custom Bazel rules authoring) appears in the responsibilities section rather than the qualifications block, so it is marked preferred.
C++ and open-source Bazel contributions appear under 'Bonus Qualifications' and are marked preferred accordingly.
The salary range ($208K–$263K/year) covers multiple levels; the posting notes that final compensation depends on leveling and interview performance. RSUs and Stock Appreciation Rights are additional components not reflected in the base range.
Location is inferred as the San Jose/Foster City, CA area (Zoox's headquarters); the posting does not explicitly state a city but Zoox is headquartered in Foster City, CA, which falls within the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CBSA.
Read the full posting
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