Microsoft Software Principal Engineer Salaries

389 verified profiles
Last updated on March 3, 2026
Average Annual Total Compensation is $330k

Employees at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer earn an average of $330k, mostly ranging from $303k to $610k based on 389 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 $329k Male
Average Salary : $ 329 k
👩‍💻 Female $336k Female
Average Salary : $ 336 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $102
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills
Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $241k

Stocks: $54k

(Today) (17.7%) $45k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$343k

(Today) (2.8%) $334k

13yrs
NA
Masters

Works in New York, NY

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $190k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (18.0%) $32k

Bonus: $29k

TC:$258k

(Today) (2.7%) $251k

18yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Atlanta, GA

Research Scientist (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (16.2%) $66k

Bonus: $59k

TC:$343k

(Today) (3.7%) $330k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $255k

Stocks: $75k

(Today) (16.8%) $62k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$378k

(Today) (3.3%) $366k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

Production Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (18.6%) $32k

Bonus: $39k

TC:$284k

(Today) (2.6%) $277k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

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Data Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $217k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (18.0%) $51k

Bonus: $43k

TC:$322k

(Today) (3.5%) $311k

21yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $85k

(Today) (21.9%) $67k

Bonus: $41k

TC:$332k

(Today) (5.6%) $313k

7yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Dallas, TX

Base: $198k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (22.4%) $60k

Bonus: $122k

TC:$398k

(Today) (4.4%) $380k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Portland, OR

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $221k

Stocks: $89k

(Today) (23.5%) $68k

Bonus: $60k

TC:$371k

(Today) (5.7%) $350k

14yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $215k

Stocks: $89k

(Today) (23.5%) $68k

Bonus: $56k

TC:$361k

(Today) (5.8%) $340k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

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Showing only 50 profiles out of 389. Upgrade to view elite profiles
Level
Experience
Avg
25th
50th
75th
90th
95th
10 to 20 yrs
$328k
$291k
$320k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
20 to 20 yrs
$329k
$329k
$329k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
9 to 18 yrs
$333k
$291k
$316k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
10 to 21 yrs
$364k
$343k
$370k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
17 to 27 yrs
$403k
$330k
$349k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
12 to 24 yrs
$654k
$549k
$612k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
Level
Experience
10 to 20 yrs
Base
$210k
Stocks / Yr
$80k
Bonus
$46k
Total Salary
$328k
Level
Experience
20 to 20 yrs
Base
$245k
Stocks / Yr
$55k
Bonus
$29k
Total Salary
$329k
Level
Experience
9 to 18 yrs
Base
$207k
Stocks / Yr
$78k
Bonus
$53k
Total Salary
$333k
Level
Experience
10 to 21 yrs
Base
$213k
Stocks / Yr
$98k
Bonus
$52k
Total Salary
$364k
Level
Experience
17 to 27 yrs
Base
$222k
Stocks / Yr
$120k
Bonus
$62k
Total Salary
$403k
Level
Experience
12 to 24 yrs
Base
$260k
Stocks / Yr
$271k
Bonus
$123k
Total Salary
$654k
Microsoft Software Principal Engineer salary levels ranges from Principal SDE (Software Engineer) upto 67 (Software Engineer), with 67 (Software Engineer) level earning average salary of $654k along with $271k worth of stock options.

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

Employees at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer earn an average of $330k, mostly ranging from $303k per year to $610k per year based on 389 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $395k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer is $330k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer is $863k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $395k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $610k per year.

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

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

  • principal software engineer - $349k per year

  • software engineering manager - $334k per year

  • software engineer - $329k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $319k per year.

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

3% hold a Graduate degree. 2% hold a PostGraduate degree.

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

Employees at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer earn an average of $330k, mostly ranging from $303k per year to $610k per year based on 389 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $395k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer is $330k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer is $863k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $395k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $610k per year.

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

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

  • principal software engineer - $349k per year

  • software engineering manager - $334k per year

  • software engineer - $329k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $319k per year.

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

3% hold a Graduate degree. 2% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working at Microsoft as Software Principal 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 : 54
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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