Microsoft Principal Development Engineer Salaries

343 verified profiles
Last updated on March 9, 2026
Average Annual Total Compensation is $326k

Employees at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer earn an average of $326k, mostly ranging from $303k to $578k based on 343 profiles.

Employee Count
massive
Equity Vest
3.5 yrs ; 29% , 29% , 29% , 13%
Signing Bonus
$25k - $50k
  30,761 people laid off in the last year.
👨‍💻 Male $321k Male
Average Salary : $ 321 k
👩‍💻 Female $308k Female
Average Salary : $ 308 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $96
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills
Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $190k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (15.7%) $33k

Bonus: $29k

TC:$258k

(Today) (2.4%) $252k

18yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Atlanta, GA

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $241k

Stocks: $54k

(Today) (15.5%) $46k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$343k

(Today) (2.4%) $335k

13yrs
NA
Masters

Works in New York, NY

Research Scientist (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (14.0%) $67k

Bonus: $59k

TC:$343k

(Today) (3.2%) $332k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $255k

Stocks: $75k

(Today) (14.5%) $64k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$378k

(Today) (2.9%) $368k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

Production Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (16.3%) $33k

Bonus: $39k

TC:$284k

(Today) (2.3%) $278k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

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Data Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $217k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (15.8%) $52k

Bonus: $43k

TC:$322k

(Today) (3.0%) $312k

21yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $85k

(Today) (19.7%) $69k

Bonus: $41k

TC:$332k

(Today) (5.1%) $315k

7yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Dallas, TX

Base: $198k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (20.4%) $62k

Bonus: $122k

TC:$398k

(Today) (4.0%) $382k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Portland, OR

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $215k

Stocks: $89k

(Today) (21.4%) $70k

Bonus: $56k

TC:$361k

(Today) (5.3%) $342k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $221k

Stocks: $89k

(Today) (21.4%) $70k

Bonus: $60k

TC:$371k

(Today) (5.2%) $351k

14yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

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Showing only 50 profiles out of 343. Upgrade to view elite profiles
Level
Experience
Avg
25th
50th
75th
90th
95th
10 to 20 yrs
$328k
$291k
$320k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
9 to 18 yrs
$333k
$291k
$316k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
Level
Experience
10 to 20 yrs
Base
$210k
Stocks / Yr
$80k
Bonus
$46k
Total Salary
$328k
Level
Experience
9 to 18 yrs
Base
$207k
Stocks / Yr
$78k
Bonus
$53k
Total Salary
$333k
Microsoft Principal Development Engineer salary levels ranges from Principal SDE (Software Engineer) upto 65 (Software Engineer), with 65 (Software Engineer) level earning average salary of $333k along with $78k worth of stock options.

Frequently asked questions
How much do Microsoft Principal Development Engineer employees make?

Employees at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer earn an average of $326k, mostly ranging from $303k per year to $578k per year based on 343 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Principal Development Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer is $326k.

What is the highest salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $578k per year.

What are the most common skills required at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

What are the highest paying jobs at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

The top 5 highest paying jobs at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer with reported salaries are:

  • software engineer - $326k per year

What is the median salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $318k per year.

How is the age distributed among employees at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

0% of employees lie between 26-31 yrs . 0% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

1% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer went to?

0% of employees studied at Federico Santa Maria Technical University . 0% studied at Universitat Hamburg .

Frequently asked questions
How much do Microsoft Principal Development Engineer employees make?

Employees at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer earn an average of $326k, mostly ranging from $303k per year to $578k per year based on 343 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Principal Development Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer is $326k.

What is the highest salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $578k per year.

What are the most common skills required at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

What are the highest paying jobs at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

The top 5 highest paying jobs at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer with reported salaries are:

  • software engineer - $326k per year

What is the median salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $318k per year.

How is the age distributed among employees at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

0% of employees lie between 26-31 yrs . 0% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer?

1% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working at Microsoft as Principal Development Engineer went to?

0% of employees studied at Federico Santa Maria Technical University . 0% studied at Universitat Hamburg .

Salary Brackets
Percentage
100-200 k 100-200 k
Percentage : 1
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 33
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 57
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 7
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 2
Age Brackets
Percentage
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 0
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 0
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