Principal Engineer Salaries

5082 verified profiles
Last updated on June 15, 2025
Average Annual Total Compensation is $291k

Employees as Principal Engineer earn an average of $291k, mostly ranging from $194k to $977k based on 5082 profiles.

👨‍💻 Male $285k Male
Average Salary : $ 285 k
👩‍💻 Female $274k Female
Average Salary : $ 274 k
🧑 Non-binary $264k Non-binary
Average Salary : $ 264 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $96
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills

Base: $196k

Stocks: $249k

(Today) (16.8%) $291k

Bonus: -

TC:$445k

(Today) (9.4%) $487k

15.1yrs
Bachelors in computer science

Works in Seattle, Washington, United States

Base: $210k

Stocks: -

Bonus: -

TC:$210k

27.3yrs
Bachelors

Works in San Jose

19.1yrs
Masters

Works in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Base: $239k

Stocks: $502k

Bonus: $60k

TC:$801k

16.8yrs
Bachelors in computer science & engineering

Works in California, United States

Base: $177k

Stocks: $16k

Bonus: $22k

TC:$215k

13.4yrs
Bachelors in business administration and management, general

Works in Seattle, Washington, United States

Base: $148k

Stocks: -

Bonus: $6k

TC:$154k

4.9yrs
Bachelors

Works in McKinney

Base: $169k

Stocks: -

Bonus: -

TC:$169k

15.4yrs
Bachelors in mechanical engineer

Works in Plano, Texas, United States

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $204k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (15.4%) $74k

Bonus: $44k

TC:$312k

(Today) (3.1%) $322k

17yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $218k

Stocks: $107k

(Today) (15.5%) $123k

Bonus: $63k

TC:$388k

(Today) (4.3%) $405k

11yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Base: $159k

Stocks: $7k

(Today) (26.0%) $5k

Bonus: -

TC:$166k

(Today) (1.1%) $164k

12yrs
NA
Phd

Works in San Jose, CA

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Frequently asked questions
How much do Principal Engineer employees make?

Employees as Principal Engineer earn an average of $291k, mostly ranging from $194k per year to $977k per year based on 5082 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $486k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Engineer is $291k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Engineer is $2032k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $486k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $977k per year.

What are the most common skills required as Principal Engineer?

1% of employees have skills in engineering . 1% also know mathematics . 1% also know information systems .

What are the highest paying jobs as Principal Engineer?

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

  • software engineer ii - $359k per year

  • venture capitalist - $329k per year

  • security analyst - $319k per year

  • principal engineer - $310k per year

  • hardware engineer - $305k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Principal Engineer?
  • software engineer - $141k per year

  • mechanical engineer - $93k per year

What is the median salary offered as Principal Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $245k per year.

How is the age distributed among employees as Principal Engineer?

13% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 8% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Principal Engineer?

16% hold a Graduate degree. 14% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working as Principal Engineer went to?

1% of employees studied at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University . 1% studied at University of Madras .

Frequently asked questions
How much do Principal Engineer employees make?

Employees as Principal Engineer earn an average of $291k, mostly ranging from $194k per year to $977k per year based on 5082 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $486k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Engineer is $291k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Engineer is $2032k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $486k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $977k per year.

What are the most common skills required as Principal Engineer?

1% of employees have skills in engineering . 1% also know mathematics . 1% also know information systems .

What are the highest paying jobs as Principal Engineer?

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

  • software engineer ii - $359k per year

  • venture capitalist - $329k per year

  • security analyst - $319k per year

  • principal engineer - $310k per year

  • hardware engineer - $305k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Principal Engineer?
  • software engineer - $141k per year

  • mechanical engineer - $93k per year

What is the median salary offered as Principal Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $245k per year.

How is the age distributed among employees as Principal Engineer?

13% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 8% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Principal Engineer?

16% hold a Graduate degree. 14% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working as Principal Engineer went to?

1% of employees studied at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University . 1% studied at University of Madras .

Salary Brackets
Percentage
< 100 k < 100 k
Percentage : 1
100-200 k 100-200 k
Percentage : 26
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 17
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 13
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 6
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 7
Age Brackets
Percentage
21-26 yrs 21-26 yrs
Percentage : 1
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 5
31-36 yrs 31-36 yrs
Percentage : 13
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 8
> 41 yrs > 41 yrs
Percentage : 3
Skills
Trending
engineering
1 %
mathematics
1 %
information systems
1 %
information technology
1 %
javascript
1 %
java
0 %
python
0 %
Schools
Top
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
1 %
University of Madras
1 %
Visveswaraiah Technological University
1 %
Anna University
1 %
University of Pune
1 %
Osmania University
0 %
Bharathidasan University
0 %
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