Microsoft Software Development Principal Engineer Salaries

274 verified profiles
Last updated on February 12, 2026
Average Annual Total Compensation is $325k

Employees at Microsoft as Software Development Principal Engineer earn an average of $325k, mostly ranging from $300k to $581k based on 274 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 $322k Male
Average Salary : $ 322 k
👩‍💻 Female $304k Female
Average Salary : $ 304 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $94
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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) (20.8%) $61k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$333k

(Today) (4.8%) $317k

9yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $235k

Stocks: $118k

(Today) (22.7%) $91k

Bonus: $55k

TC:$408k

(Today) (6.5%) $381k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Security Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $210k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (23.5%) $48k

Bonus: $31k

TC:$303k

(Today) (4.8%) $288k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Full Stack Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $245k

Stocks: $88k

(Today) (23.4%) $68k

Bonus: $82k

TC:$416k

(Today) (5.0%) $395k

22yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Los Angeles, CA

Frontend Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $227k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (21.4%) $49k

Bonus: $45k

TC:$334k

(Today) (4.0%) $320k

20yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Mountain View, CA

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Security Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $229k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (21.2%) $62k

Bonus: $132k

TC:$439k

(Today) (3.8%) $422k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $211k

Stocks: $108k

(Today) (21.2%) $85k

Bonus: $42k

TC:$361k

(Today) (6.4%) $338k

8yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Seattle, WA

Base: $199k

Stocks: $54k

(Today) (20.1%) $43k

Bonus: $40k

TC:$293k

(Today) (3.7%) $282k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $227k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (19.9%) $51k

Bonus: $36k

TC:$327k

(Today) (3.9%) $315k

30yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Reston, VA

Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $219k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (18.4%) $52k

Bonus: $34k

TC:$316k

(Today) (3.7%) $305k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Seattle, WA

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Showing only 50 profiles out of 274. Upgrade to view elite profiles
Level
Experience
Avg
25th
50th
75th
90th
95th
9 to 15 yrs
$326k
$284k
$315k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
10 to 20 yrs
$330k
$291k
$317k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
Level
Experience
9 to 15 yrs
Base
$208k
Stocks / Yr
$78k
Bonus
$45k
Total Salary
$326k
Level
Experience
10 to 20 yrs
Base
$208k
Stocks / Yr
$84k
Bonus
$46k
Total Salary
$330k
Microsoft Software Development Principal Engineer salary levels ranges from 65 (Software Engineer) upto Principal SDE (Software Engineer), with Principal SDE (Software Engineer) level earning average salary of $330k along with $84k worth of stock options.

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

Employees at Microsoft as Software Development Principal Engineer earn an average of $325k, mostly ranging from $300k per year to $581k per year based on 274 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $391k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Development Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Development Principal Engineer is $325k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Development Principal Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $391k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $581k per year.

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

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

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

  • software engineer - $325k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $315k per year.

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

0% of employees lie between 36-41 yrs .

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

0% hold a PostGraduate degree.

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

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

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

Employees at Microsoft as Software Development Principal Engineer earn an average of $325k, mostly ranging from $300k per year to $581k per year based on 274 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $391k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Development Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Development Principal Engineer is $325k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Development Principal Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $391k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $581k per year.

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

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

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

  • software engineer - $325k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $315k per year.

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

0% of employees lie between 36-41 yrs .

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

0% hold a PostGraduate degree.

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

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

Salary Brackets
Percentage
100-200 k 100-200 k
Percentage : 1
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 34
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 55
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 7
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 3
Age Brackets
Percentage
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 0
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