Microsoft Software Research Engineer Salaries

29 verified profiles
Last updated on August 12, 2025
Average Annual Total Compensation is $303k

Employees at Microsoft as Software Research Engineer earn an average of $303k, mostly ranging from $281k to $390k based on 29 profiles.

Employee Count
massive
Equity Vest
3.5 yrs ; 29% , 29% , 29% , 13%
Signing Bonus
$25k - $50k
  30,719 people laid off in the last year.
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills
Research Scientist (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $215k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (29.8%) $83k

Bonus: $61k

TC:$340k

(Today) (5.6%) $359k

14yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Base: $141k

Stocks: $81k

Bonus: $19k

TC:$241k

4yrs
Masters in computer science

Works in Redmond, Washington, United States

Base: $201k

Stocks: $69k

(Today) (35.3%) $93k

Bonus: $75k

TC:$345k

(Today) (7.0%) $369k

7yrs
NA
NA

Works in Los Angeles, CA

Research Scientist (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $203k

Stocks: $142k

(Today) (33.3%) $189k

Bonus: $47k

TC:$391k

(Today) (12.1%) $439k

14yrs
NA
NA

Works in Redmond, WA

Research Scientist (Senior SDE)

Base: $167k

Stocks: $29k

(Today) (29.6%) $38k

Bonus: -

TC:$196k

(Today) (4.4%) $205k

8yrs
NA
NA

Works in Cambridge, MA

Base: $181k

Stocks: -

Bonus: -

4yrs
Master's in computer science

Works in Redmond, WA

Lives in sammamish (98074)

Base: $165k

Stocks: -

Bonus: -

3yrs
Doctorate in computer science

Works in Redmond, WA

Lives in seattle (98121)

Base: $180k

Stocks: -

Bonus: -

3yrs
Doctorate in computer engineering

Works in Redmond, WA

Lives in bellevue (98006)

Base: $185k

Stocks: -

Bonus: -

1yrs
Doctorate in electrical engineering

Works in Redmond, WA

Lives in redmond (98052)

Base: $180k

Stocks: -

Bonus: -

3yrs
Doctorate in applied mathematics

Works in Redmond, WA

Lives in redmond (98052)

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Level
Experience
Avg
25th
50th
75th
90th
95th
8 to 8 yrs
$196k
$196k
$196k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
7 to 7 yrs
$345k
$345k
$345k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
14 to 14 yrs
$366k
$353k
$366k
$NaNk
$NaNk
$NaNk
Level
Experience
8 to 8 yrs
Base
$167k
Stocks / Yr
$29k
Bonus
$0k
Total Salary
$196k
Level
Experience
7 to 7 yrs
Base
$201k
Stocks / Yr
$69k
Bonus
$75k
Total Salary
$345k
Level
Experience
14 to 14 yrs
Base
$209k
Stocks / Yr
$103k
Bonus
$54k
Total Salary
$366k
Microsoft Software Research Engineer salary levels ranges from Senior SDE (Software Engineer) upto Principal SDE (Software Engineer), with Principal SDE (Software Engineer) level earning average salary of $366k along with $103k worth of stock options.

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

Employees at Microsoft as Software Research Engineer earn an average of $303k, mostly ranging from $281k per year to $390k per year based on 29 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $371k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Research Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Research Engineer is $303k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Research Engineer is $391k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $371k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $390k per year.

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

24% of employees have skills in engineering . 24% also know mathematics . 21% also know information systems .

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

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

  • software engineer - $318k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $340k per year.

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

This group has a predominantly younger workforce. 48% of employees lie between 26-31 yrs . 14% of the employees fall in the age group of 31-36 yrs .

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

41% of employees have a PostGraduate degree. 21% hold a Graduate degree. 21% hold a PhD degree.

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

7% of employees studied at Cairo University . 7% studied at Nanjing University .

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

Employees at Microsoft as Software Research Engineer earn an average of $303k, mostly ranging from $281k per year to $390k per year based on 29 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $371k per year.

What is the average salary of Microsoft Software Research Engineer?

Average salary of an employee at Microsoft as Software Research Engineer is $303k.

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

Highest reported salary offered at Microsoft as Software Research Engineer is $391k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $371k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $390k per year.

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

24% of employees have skills in engineering . 24% also know mathematics . 21% also know information systems .

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

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

  • software engineer - $318k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $340k per year.

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

This group has a predominantly younger workforce. 48% of employees lie between 26-31 yrs . 14% of the employees fall in the age group of 31-36 yrs .

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

41% of employees have a PostGraduate degree. 21% hold a Graduate degree. 21% hold a PhD degree.

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

7% of employees studied at Cairo University . 7% studied at Nanjing University .

Salary Brackets
Percentage
100-200 k 100-200 k
Percentage : 3
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 3
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 10
Age Brackets
Percentage
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 48
31-36 yrs 31-36 yrs
Percentage : 14
Skills
Trending
engineering
24 %
mathematics
24 %
information systems
21 %
c++
17 %
c#
10 %
machine learning
4 %
c
0 %
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