Microsoft Software Engineer Principal Salaries

311 verified profiles
Last updated on January 21, 2026
Average Annual Total Compensation is $331k

Employees at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal earn an average of $331k, mostly ranging from $303k to $614k based on 311 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 $331k Male
Average Salary : $ 331 k
👩‍💻 Female $328k Female
Average Salary : $ 328 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $99
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills

Base: $291k

Stocks: $364k

(Today) (12.4%) $319k

Bonus: $209k

TC:$863k

(Today) (5.2%) $818k

9yrs
NA
Phd

Works in San Francisco, CA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $208k

Stocks: $76k

(Today) (12.4%) $67k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$333k

(Today) (2.9%) $324k

9yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $235k

Stocks: $118k

(Today) (14.6%) $100k

Bonus: $55k

TC:$408k

(Today) (4.2%) $391k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Security Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $210k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (15.5%) $53k

Bonus: $31k

TC:$303k

(Today) (3.2%) $293k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Full Stack Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $245k

Stocks: $88k

(Today) (15.2%) $75k

Bonus: $82k

TC:$416k

(Today) (3.2%) $402k

22yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Los Angeles, CA

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Frontend Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $227k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (13.0%) $54k

Bonus: $45k

TC:$334k

(Today) (2.4%) $326k

20yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Mountain View, CA

Security Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $229k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (12.9%) $68k

Bonus: $132k

TC:$439k

(Today) (2.3%) $428k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $211k

Stocks: $108k

(Today) (12.9%) $94k

Bonus: $42k

TC:$361k

(Today) (3.9%) $347k

8yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Seattle, WA

Base: $199k

Stocks: $54k

(Today) (11.8%) $48k

Bonus: $40k

TC:$293k

(Today) (2.2%) $286k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $227k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (11.5%) $56k

Bonus: $36k

TC:$327k

(Today) (2.2%) $320k

30yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Reston, VA

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Showing only 50 profiles out of 311. Upgrade to view elite profiles
Level
Experience
Avg
25th
50th
75th
90th
95th
9 to 15 yrs
$326k
$284k
$315k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
20 to 20 yrs
$329k
$329k
$329k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
10 to 20 yrs
$330k
$291k
$317k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
10 to 21 yrs
$364k
$343k
$370k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
16 to 27 yrs
$402k
$327k
$340k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
11 to 18 yrs
$738k
$675k
$738k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
Level
Experience
9 to 15 yrs
Base
$208k
Stocks / Yr
$78k
Bonus
$45k
Total Salary
$326k
Level
Experience
20 to 20 yrs
Base
$245k
Stocks / Yr
$55k
Bonus
$29k
Total Salary
$329k
Level
Experience
10 to 20 yrs
Base
$208k
Stocks / Yr
$84k
Bonus
$46k
Total Salary
$330k
Level
Experience
10 to 21 yrs
Base
$213k
Stocks / Yr
$98k
Bonus
$52k
Total Salary
$364k
Level
Experience
16 to 27 yrs
Base
$219k
Stocks / Yr
$118k
Bonus
$65k
Total Salary
$402k
Level
Experience
11 to 18 yrs
Base
$282k
Stocks / Yr
$305k
Bonus
$151k
Total Salary
$738k
Microsoft Software Engineer Principal salary levels ranges from 65 (Software Engineer) upto 67 (Software Engineer), with 67 (Software Engineer) level earning average salary of $738k along with $305k worth of stock options.

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

Employees at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal earn an average of $331k, mostly ranging from $303k per year to $614k per year based on 311 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $407k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Engineer Principal?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal is $331k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal is $863k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $407k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $614k per year.

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

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 Software Engineer Principal?

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

  • software engineering manager - $351k per year

  • principal software engineer - $349k per year

  • software engineer - $329k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $317k per year.

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

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 Software Engineer Principal?

4% hold a Graduate degree. 1% hold a PostGraduate degree.

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

Employees at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal earn an average of $331k, mostly ranging from $303k per year to $614k per year based on 311 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $407k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Engineer Principal?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal is $331k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal is $863k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $407k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $614k per year.

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

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 Software Engineer Principal?

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

  • software engineering manager - $351k per year

  • principal software engineer - $349k per year

  • software engineer - $329k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $317k per year.

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

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 Software Engineer Principal?

4% hold a Graduate degree. 1% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal 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 : 53
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 7
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 4
Age Brackets
Percentage
21-26 yrs 21-26 yrs
Percentage : 1
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 0
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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