Microsoft Principal Software Engineer Salaries

318 verified profiles
Last updated on January 24, 2026
Average Annual Total Compensation is $328k

Employees at Microsoft as Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $328k, mostly ranging from $301k to $608k based on 318 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 $325k Male
Average Salary : $ 325 k
👩‍💻 Female $328k Female
Average Salary : $ 328 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
Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $208k

Stocks: $76k

(Today) (8.1%) $70k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$333k

(Today) (1.9%) $327k

9yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $235k

Stocks: $118k

(Today) (10.4%) $105k

Bonus: $55k

TC:$408k

(Today) (3.0%) $396k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Security Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $210k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (11.3%) $55k

Bonus: $31k

TC:$303k

(Today) (2.3%) $296k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Full Stack Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $245k

Stocks: $88k

(Today) (11.1%) $78k

Bonus: $82k

TC:$416k

(Today) (2.4%) $406k

22yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Los Angeles, CA

Frontend Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $227k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (8.9%) $57k

Bonus: $45k

TC:$334k

(Today) (1.6%) $328k

20yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Mountain View, CA

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Security Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $229k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (8.7%) $72k

Bonus: $132k

TC:$439k

(Today) (1.6%) $432k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $211k

Stocks: $108k

(Today) (8.6%) $99k

Bonus: $42k

TC:$361k

(Today) (2.6%) $351k

8yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Seattle, WA

Base: $199k

Stocks: $54k

(Today) (7.4%) $50k

Bonus: $40k

TC:$293k

(Today) (1.4%) $289k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $227k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (7.2%) $59k

Bonus: $36k

TC:$327k

(Today) (1.4%) $323k

30yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Reston, VA

Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $219k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (5.3%) $60k

Bonus: $34k

TC:$316k

(Today) (1.1%) $313k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Seattle, WA

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Showing only 50 profiles out of 318. Upgrade to view elite profiles
Level
Experience
Avg
25th
50th
75th
90th
95th
9 to 15 yrs
$326k
$284k
$315k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
14 to 24 yrs
$419k
$325k
$330k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
20 to 20 yrs
$612k
$612k
$612k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
Level
Experience
9 to 15 yrs
Base
$208k
Stocks / Yr
$78k
Bonus
$45k
Total Salary
$326k
Level
Experience
14 to 24 yrs
Base
$223k
Stocks / Yr
$125k
Bonus
$72k
Total Salary
$419k
Level
Experience
20 to 20 yrs
Base
$272k
Stocks / Yr
$246k
Bonus
$93k
Total Salary
$612k
Microsoft Principal Software Engineer salary levels ranges from 65 (Principal SDE) upto 67 (Software Engineer), with 67 (Software Engineer) level earning average salary of $612k along with $246k worth of stock options.

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

Employees at Microsoft as Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $328k, mostly ranging from $301k per year to $608k per year based on 318 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $397k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Principal Software Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Principal Software Engineer is $328k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Software Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $397k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $608k per year.

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

2% of employees have skills in engineering . 2% also know information systems . 2% also know mathematics .

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

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

  • principal software engineer - $349k per year

  • software engineering manager - $337k per year

  • software engineer - $327k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $316k per year.

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

2% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 1% of the employees fall in the age group of 21-26 yrs .

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

4% hold a Graduate degree. 2% hold a PostGraduate degree.

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

0% of employees studied at California Institute of Technology . 0% studied at Eotvos Lorand University of Applied Sciences .

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

Employees at Microsoft as Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $328k, mostly ranging from $301k per year to $608k per year based on 318 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $397k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Principal Software Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Principal Software Engineer is $328k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Principal Software Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $397k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $608k per year.

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

2% of employees have skills in engineering . 2% also know information systems . 2% also know mathematics .

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

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

  • principal software engineer - $349k per year

  • software engineering manager - $337k per year

  • software engineer - $327k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $316k per year.

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

2% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 1% of the employees fall in the age group of 21-26 yrs .

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

4% hold a Graduate degree. 2% hold a PostGraduate degree.

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

0% of employees studied at California Institute of Technology . 0% studied at Eotvos Lorand University of Applied Sciences .

Salary Brackets
Percentage
100-200 k 100-200 k
Percentage : 1
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 31
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 52
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 7
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 3
Age Brackets
Percentage
21-26 yrs 21-26 yrs
Percentage : 1
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 1
31-36 yrs 31-36 yrs
Percentage : 2
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 1
> 41 yrs > 41 yrs
Percentage : 1
Skills
Trending
engineering
2 %
information systems
2 %
mathematics
2 %
c++
1 %
c#
1 %
debugging
1 %
distributed systems
1 %
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