Microsoft Software Principal Engineer Salaries

290 verified profiles
Last updated on September 21, 2025
Average Annual Total Compensation is $326k

Employees at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer earn an average of $326k, mostly ranging from $300k to $586k based on 290 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 $328k Female
Average Salary : $ 328 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
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) (17.9%) $46k

Bonus: $34k

TC:$289k

(Today) (2.4%) $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) (33.8%) $84k

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) (24.7%) $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 290. 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
20 to 20 yrs
$329k
$329k
$329k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
10 to 21 yrs
$364k
$343k
$370k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
16 to 27 yrs
$402k
$327k
$340k
$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
20 to 20 yrs
Base
$245k
Stocks / Yr
$55k
Bonus
$29k
Total Salary
$329k
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
20 to 20 yrs
Base
$272k
Stocks / Yr
$246k
Bonus
$93k
Total Salary
$612k
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 $612k along with $246k 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 $326k, mostly ranging from $300k per year to $586k per year based on 290 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer is $326k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $586k 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 - $324k per year

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

4% 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 $326k, mostly ranging from $300k per year to $586k per year based on 290 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer is $326k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Principal Engineer is $686k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $388k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $586k 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 - $324k per year

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

4% 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 : 32
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 52
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 6
> 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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