Principal Software Engineer San Francisco Salaries

246 verified profiles
Last updated on October 9, 2025
Average Annual Total Compensation is $382k

Employees as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco earn an average of $382k, mostly ranging from $266k to $1322k based on 246 profiles.

👨‍💻 Male $388k Male
Average Salary : $ 388 k
👩‍💻 Female $450k Female
Average Salary : $ 450 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $116
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills
Principal Software Engineer (Principal Engineer)
Male

Base: $192k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (8.4%) $43k

Bonus: $25k

TC:$256k

(Today) (1.3%) $259k

25yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in San Francisco, CA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $233k

Stocks: $76k

(Today) (32.1%) $100k

Bonus: $59k

TC:$368k

(Today) (6.6%) $393k

15yrs
NA
Phd

Works in San Francisco, CA

Full Stack Engineer (Principal MTS)
Male

Base: $264k

Stocks: $18k

(Today) (2.2%) $18k

Bonus: $53k

TC:$335k

(Today) (0.1%) $335k

15yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in San Francisco, CA

Backend engineer (Principal MTS)
Male

Base: $276k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (0.9%) $77k

Bonus: $54k

TC:$408k

(Today) (0.2%) $408k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

Backend engineer (Principal Software Engineer)

Base: $262k

Stocks: $39k

Bonus: $68k

TC:$369k

18yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

DevOps Engineer (Principal MTS)
Male

Base: $243k

Stocks: $49k

(Today) (13.4%) $42k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$340k

(Today) (1.9%) $333k

8yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

Backend engineer (Principal MTS)
Male

Base: $271k

Stocks: $52k

(Today) (21.9%) $41k

Bonus: $52k

TC:$375k

(Today) (3.1%) $364k

15yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

Security Engineer (Principal Engineer)
Male

Base: $217k

Stocks: $98k

(Today) (6.5%) $104k

Bonus: $29k

TC:$344k

(Today) (1.9%) $350k

11yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

Backend Engineer (Principal)
Male

Base: $270k

Stocks: $49k

Bonus: -

TC:$319k

18yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

Backend Engineer (Principal Engineer)
Female

Base: $180k

Stocks: $58k

Bonus: $19k

TC:$258k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

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

Employees as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco earn an average of $382k, mostly ranging from $266k per year to $1322k per year based on 246 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $563k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Software Engineer San Francisco?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco is $382k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco is $2032k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $563k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1322k per year.

What are the most common skills required as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

1% of employees have skills in angularjs . 1% also know c++ . 1% also know computer engineering .

What are the highest paying jobs as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

The top 5 highest paying jobs as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco with reported salaries are:

  • software engineer - $404k per year

  • software engineering manager - $324k per year

  • principal software engineer - $209k per year

  • lead software engineer - $193k per year

  • senior software engineer - $155k per year

What is the median salary offered as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $349k per year.

How is the age distributed among employees as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

12% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 4% of the employees fall in the age group of 26-31 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

13% hold a PostGraduate degree. 10% hold a Graduate degree.

Which schools do employees working as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco went to?

1% of employees studied at National University of Central Buenos Aires . 1% studied at Tel-Aviv University .

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

Employees as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco earn an average of $382k, mostly ranging from $266k per year to $1322k per year based on 246 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $563k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Software Engineer San Francisco?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco is $382k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco is $2032k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $563k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1322k per year.

What are the most common skills required as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

1% of employees have skills in angularjs . 1% also know c++ . 1% also know computer engineering .

What are the highest paying jobs as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

The top 5 highest paying jobs as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco with reported salaries are:

  • software engineer - $404k per year

  • software engineering manager - $324k per year

  • principal software engineer - $209k per year

  • lead software engineer - $193k per year

  • senior software engineer - $155k per year

What is the median salary offered as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $349k per year.

How is the age distributed among employees as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

12% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 4% of the employees fall in the age group of 26-31 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco?

13% hold a PostGraduate degree. 10% hold a Graduate degree.

Which schools do employees working as Principal Software Engineer in San Francisco went to?

1% of employees studied at National University of Central Buenos Aires . 1% studied at Tel-Aviv University .

Salary Brackets
Percentage
< 100 k < 100 k
Percentage : 0
100-200 k 100-200 k
Percentage : 11
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 24
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 22
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 15
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 12
Age Brackets
Percentage
21-26 yrs 21-26 yrs
Percentage : 0
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 4
31-36 yrs 31-36 yrs
Percentage : 12
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 4
> 41 yrs > 41 yrs
Percentage : 3
Skills
Trending
angularjs
1 %
c++
1 %
computer engineering
1 %
engineering
1 %
java
1 %
javascript
1 %
jquery
1 %
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