AI/ML Software Engineer at Toyon
Goleta, CA
$120,000–$200,000from the description
Jul 15, 2026
Goleta, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A software engineering role focused on building AI and machine learning applications in Python or C++, working alongside researchers and customers on problems involving sensor data processing or control systems. Relevant experience in computer vision, reinforcement learning, large language models, or signal processing is advantageous. Candidates need a strong grounding in math, physics, or computer science, plus a relevant advanced degree or a bachelor's with at least two years of industry experience. U.S. citizenship and eligibility for a DoD security clearance are required.
Mid level · 2+ years · Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
“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
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $161,771 (middle half $130,294–$177,479). 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 (7)
The posting requires US citizenship and the ability to qualify for a DoD security clearance, but does not specify the exact clearance level. 'Secret' is assumed as the minimum DoD clearance; the actual level could be higher.
Toyon Research Corporation is headquartered in Goleta, CA (Santa Barbara metro area); no explicit city is stated in the posting but the company's known location is used.
The degree requirement is a genuine gate: a Bachelor's degree plus 2+ years of industry experience OR an advanced degree (M.S./Ph.D.) are both acceptable paths. Because a Bachelor's is the minimum qualifying degree, the degree requirement is set to Bachelors.
The 2-year experience figure applies only to candidates entering with a Bachelor's degree; an advanced degree alone satisfies the requirement. The overall years minimum is set to 2 as the minimum stated threshold.
Computer Vision, Reinforcement Learning, LLMs, video/signal processing, and version control tools are all listed as 'a plus' or 'desired' in the description — not in the requirements block.
The role is described as in-person; remote is set to false.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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