Microsoft Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer Salaries

250 verified profiles
Last updated on September 30, 2025
Average Annual Total Compensation is $324k

Employees at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $324k, mostly ranging from $299k to $594k based on 250 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 $304k Female
Average Salary : $ 304 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $95
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills
Security Engineer (Principal SDE)

Base: $183k

Stocks: $146k

(Today) (14.3%) $167k

Bonus: $28k

TC:$357k

(Today) (5.9%) $378k

25yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Atlanta, GA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)

Base: $216k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (18.1%) $46k

Bonus: $34k

TC:$289k

(Today) (2.5%) $296k

14yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Seattle, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $233k

Stocks: $76k

(Today) (33.8%) $101k

Bonus: $59k

TC:$368k

(Today) (7.0%) $394k

15yrs
NA
Phd

Works in San Francisco, CA

Full Stack Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $207k

Stocks: $63k

(Today) (32.5%) $84k

Bonus: $46k

TC:$316k

(Today) (6.5%) $337k

17yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Boston, MA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $209k

Stocks: $63k

(Today) (33.9%) $85k

Bonus: $42k

TC:$313k

(Today) (6.8%) $335k

19yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Female

Base: $194k

Stocks: $49k

(Today) (33.2%) $65k

Bonus: -

TC:$243k

(Today) (6.6%) $259k

15yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Research Scientist (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $215k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (27.0%) $81k

Bonus: $61k

TC:$340k

(Today) (5.1%) $357k

14yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Full Stack Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $211k

Stocks: $58k

(Today) (27.0%) $74k

Bonus: $39k

TC:$309k

(Today) (5.1%) $324k

18yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Frontend Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $207k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (24.9%) $97k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$333k

(Today) (5.8%) $352k

12yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Portland, OR

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $204k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (24.8%) $80k

Bonus: $44k

TC:$312k

(Today) (5.1%) $328k

17yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

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Showing only 50 profiles out of 250. Upgrade to view elite profiles
Level
Experience
Avg
25th
50th
75th
90th
95th
10 to 20 yrs
$325k
$291k
$312k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
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
10 to 20 yrs
Base
$206k
Stocks / Yr
$82k
Bonus
$45k
Total Salary
$325k
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 Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer salary levels ranges from Principal SDE (Software Engineer) 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 Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer employees make?

Employees at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $324k, mostly ranging from $299k per year to $594k per year based on 250 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year.

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

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer is $324k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $594k per year.

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

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

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

  • software engineer - $325k per year

  • principal software engineer - $257k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $314k per year.

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

1% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 0% of the employees fall in the age group of 26-31 yrs .

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

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

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

0% of employees studied at Indian Institute of Technolocy . 0% studied at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee .

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

Employees at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $324k, mostly ranging from $299k per year to $594k per year based on 250 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year.

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

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer is $324k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Engineer Principal Software Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $594k per year.

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

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

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

  • software engineer - $325k per year

  • principal software engineer - $257k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $314k per year.

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

1% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 0% of the employees fall in the age group of 26-31 yrs .

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

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

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

0% of employees studied at Indian Institute of Technolocy . 0% studied at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee .

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 : 55
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 6
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 3
Age Brackets
Percentage
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 0
31-36 yrs 31-36 yrs
Percentage : 1
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