Microsoft Principal Software Development Salaries

218 verified profiles
Last updated on July 9, 2025
Average Annual Total Compensation is $321k

Employees at Microsoft as Principal Software Development earn an average of $321k, mostly ranging from $299k to $552k based on 218 profiles.

Employee Count
massive
Equity Vest
3.5 yrs ; 29% , 29% , 29% , 13%
Signing Bonus
$25k - $50k
  30,719 people laid off in the last year.
👨‍💻 Male $316k Male
Average Salary : $ 316 k
👩‍💻 Female $320k Female
Average Salary : $ 320 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $101
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills
Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $218k

Stocks: $107k

(Today) (21.4%) $130k

Bonus: $63k

TC:$388k

(Today) (5.9%) $411k

11yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $204k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (21.4%) $77k

Bonus: $44k

TC:$312k

(Today) (4.4%) $326k

17yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Software Development Manager (Principal EM)
Male

Base: $234k

Stocks: $76k

(Today) (17.1%) $90k

Bonus: $56k

TC:$367k

(Today) (3.6%) $380k

22yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $211k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (25.3%) $80k

Bonus: $42k

TC:$317k

(Today) (5.1%) $333k

10yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Redmond, WA

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $194k

Stocks: $68k

(Today) (24.6%) $85k

Bonus: $39k

TC:$301k

(Today) (5.6%) $317k

18yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Data Engineer (Principal SDE)

Base: $204k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (17.3%) $92k

Bonus: $39k

TC:$321k

(Today) (4.2%) $335k

14yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Redmond, WA

Full Stack Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $210k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (20.7%) $77k

Bonus: $39k

TC:$313k

(Today) (4.2%) $326k

19yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $226k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (24.3%) $79k

Bonus: $45k

TC:$335k

(Today) (4.6%) $351k

11yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Backend Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $192k

Stocks: $51k

(Today) (21.0%) $62k

Bonus: $38k

TC:$282k

(Today) (3.8%) $292k

17yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Seattle, WA

Production Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $225k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (24.6%) $79k

Bonus: $45k

TC:$334k

(Today) (4.7%) $350k

25yrs
NA
High school

Works in New York, NY

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Showing only 50 profiles out of 218. Upgrade to view elite profiles
Level
Experience
Avg
25th
50th
75th
90th
95th
10 to 20 yrs
$322k
$291k
$311k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
9 to 15 yrs
$326k
$284k
$315k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
22 to 22 yrs
$367k
$367k
$367k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
Level
Experience
10 to 20 yrs
Base
$205k
Stocks / Yr
$81k
Bonus
$45k
Total Salary
$322k
Level
Experience
9 to 15 yrs
Base
$208k
Stocks / Yr
$78k
Bonus
$45k
Total Salary
$326k
Level
Experience
22 to 22 yrs
Base
$234k
Stocks / Yr
$76k
Bonus
$56k
Total Salary
$367k
Microsoft Principal Software Development salary levels ranges from Principal SDE (Software Engineer) upto Principal EM (Software Engineering Manager), with Principal EM (Software Engineering Manager) level earning average salary of $367k along with $76k worth of stock options.

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

Employees at Microsoft as Principal Software Development earn an average of $321k, mostly ranging from $299k per year to $552k per year based on 218 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $387k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Principal Software Development?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Principal Software Development is $321k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Software Development is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $387k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $552k per year.

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

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

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

  • software engineer - $321k per year

Which are the top locations?
What is the median salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Software Development?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $312k per year.

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

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 Software Development?

1% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working at Microsoft as Principal Software Development 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 Software Development employees make?

Employees at Microsoft as Principal Software Development earn an average of $321k, mostly ranging from $299k per year to $552k per year based on 218 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $387k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Principal Software Development?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Principal Software Development is $321k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Software Development is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $387k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $552k per year.

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

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

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

  • software engineer - $321k per year

Which are the top locations?
What is the median salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Software Development?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $312k per year.

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

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 Software Development?

1% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working at Microsoft as Principal Software Development 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 : 35
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 54
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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