Principal Engineer Salaries

5929 verified profiles
Last updated on November 15, 2025
Average Annual Total Compensation is $297k

Employees as Principal Engineer earn an average of $297k, mostly ranging from $194k to $1036k based on 5929 profiles.

👨‍💻 Male $289k Male
Average Salary : $ 289 k
👩‍💻 Female $275k Female
Average Salary : $ 275 k
🧑 Non-binary $264k Non-binary
Average Salary : $ 264 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $95
Latest Jobs
Hiring? Promote your job
Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills

Base: $194k

Stocks: $149k

(Today) (3.4%) $144k

Bonus: -

TC:$343k

(Today) (1.5%) $338k

15yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Key West, Florida, United States

Base: $326k

Stocks: $215k

(Today) (3.6%) $223k

Bonus: $88k

TC:$629k

(Today) (1.2%) $637k

23yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Cupertino

Base: $249k

Stocks: $283k

(Today) (0.3%) $284k

Bonus: -

TC:$532k

(Today) (0.2%) $533k

15.4yrs
Bachelors in computer and systems engineering

Works in Seattle, Washington, United States

Base: $196k

Stocks: $12k

(Today) (35.0%) $17k

Bonus: $29k

TC:$238k

(Today) (1.8%) $242k

10yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Santa Clara, CA

Base: $291k

Stocks: $364k

(Today) (0.6%) $366k

Bonus: $209k

TC:$863k

(Today) (0.3%) $866k

9yrs
NA
Phd

Works in San Francisco, CA

🚀 AI Agents that work 24/7 to land you higher paying jobs
Security Engineer (Principal Engineer)
Male

Base: $204k

Stocks: $98k

(Today) (11.0%) $109k

Bonus: $29k

TC:$331k

(Today) (3.3%) $342k

7yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Santa Clara, CA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $208k

Stocks: $76k

(Today) (0.7%) $77k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$333k

(Today) (0.2%) $334k

9yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Redmond, WA

DevOps Engineer (L4)
Male

Base: $200k

Stocks: $20k

Bonus: $39k

TC:$259k

10yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Denver, CO

DevOps Engineer (Principal Software Engineer)
Male

Base: $231k

Stocks: $173k

(Today) (8.9%) $188k

Bonus: $35k

TC:$439k

(Today) (3.5%) $454k

12yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in San Jose, CA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $235k

Stocks: $118k

(Today) (1.9%) $115k

Bonus: $55k

TC:$408k

(Today) (0.5%) $406k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

100% real time & verified!

Showing only 50 profiles out of 5929. Upgrade to view elite profiles
Frequently asked questions
How much do Principal Engineer employees make?

Employees as Principal Engineer earn an average of $297k, mostly ranging from $194k per year to $1036k per year based on 5929 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $495k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Engineer is $297k.

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 $495k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1036k 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

  • principal engineer - $332k per year

  • venture capitalist - $329k per year

  • security analyst - $319k per year

  • hardware engineer - $310k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Principal Engineer?
  • software engineer - $163k 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 $246k per year.

How is the age distributed among employees as Principal Engineer?

11% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 7% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Principal Engineer?

14% hold a Graduate degree. 12% 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 $297k, mostly ranging from $194k per year to $1036k per year based on 5929 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $495k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Engineer is $297k.

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 $495k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1036k 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

  • principal engineer - $332k per year

  • venture capitalist - $329k per year

  • security analyst - $319k per year

  • hardware engineer - $310k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Principal Engineer?
  • software engineer - $163k 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 $246k per year.

How is the age distributed among employees as Principal Engineer?

11% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 7% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Principal Engineer?

14% hold a Graduate degree. 12% 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 : 27
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 18
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 14
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 7
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 8
Age Brackets
Percentage
21-26 yrs 21-26 yrs
Percentage : 1
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 4
31-36 yrs 31-36 yrs
Percentage : 11
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 7
> 41 yrs > 41 yrs
Percentage : 3
Skills
Trending
engineering
1 %
mathematics
1 %
information systems
1 %
information technology
1 %
javascript
0 %
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 %
Browse by Locations