Principal Software Engineer Salaries

2903 verified profiles
Last updated on October 31, 2025
Average Annual Total Compensation is $313k

Employees as Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $313k, mostly ranging from $213k to $937k based on 2903 profiles.

👨‍💻 Male $310k Male
Average Salary : $ 310 k
👩‍💻 Female $296k Female
Average Salary : $ 296 k
🧑 Non-binary $264k Non-binary
Average Salary : $ 264 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $95
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills

Base: $249k

Stocks: $283k

(Today) (4.3%) $295k

Bonus: -

TC:$532k

(Today) (2.3%) $544k

15.4yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Seattle, Washington, United States

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $208k

Stocks: $76k

(Today) (2.1%) $78k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$333k

(Today) (0.5%) $335k

9yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Redmond, WA

Security Engineer (Principal Engineer)
Male

Base: $204k

Stocks: $98k

(Today) (19.0%) $117k

Bonus: $29k

TC:$331k

(Today) (5.6%) $350k

7yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Santa Clara, CA

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) (20.4%) $208k

Bonus: $35k

TC:$439k

(Today) (8.0%) $474k

12yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in San Jose, CA

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Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $235k

Stocks: $118k

(Today) (0.4%) $117k

Bonus: $55k

TC:$408k

(Today) (0.1%) $407k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal)
Male

Base: $272k

Stocks: $82k

Bonus: $47k

TC:$402k

9yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in New York, NY

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal Scientist)
Male

Base: $225k

Stocks: $8k

Bonus: $33k

TC:$267k

7yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Boston, MA

Security Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $210k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (1.4%) $61k

Bonus: $31k

TC:$303k

(Today) (0.3%) $302k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Base: $314k

Stocks: $310k

(Today) (11.9%) $274k

Bonus: $12k

TC:$636k

(Today) (5.8%) $599k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Mateo, CA

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

Employees as Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $313k, mostly ranging from $213k per year to $937k per year based on 2903 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $524k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Software Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Software Engineer is $313k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Software Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Software Engineer is $2032k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $524k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $937k per year.

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

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

What are the highest paying jobs as Principal Software Engineer?

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

  • hardware engineer - $370k per year

  • software engineer ii - $359k per year

  • software engineer - $319k per year

  • software engineering manager - $312k per year

  • information technologist - $312k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Principal Software Engineer?
  • software engineer - $164k per year

What is the median salary offered as Principal Software Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $272k per year.

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

11% 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 Software Engineer?

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

Which schools do employees working as Principal Software 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 Software Engineer employees make?

Employees as Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $313k, mostly ranging from $213k per year to $937k per year based on 2903 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $524k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Software Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Software Engineer is $313k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Software Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Software Engineer is $2032k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $524k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $937k per year.

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

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

What are the highest paying jobs as Principal Software Engineer?

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

  • hardware engineer - $370k per year

  • software engineer ii - $359k per year

  • software engineer - $319k per year

  • software engineering manager - $312k per year

  • information technologist - $312k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Principal Software Engineer?
  • software engineer - $164k per year

What is the median salary offered as Principal Software Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $272k per year.

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

11% 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 Software Engineer?

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

Which schools do employees working as Principal Software 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 : 0
100-200 k 100-200 k
Percentage : 23
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 20
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 16
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 7
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 10
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 : 11
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 8
> 41 yrs > 41 yrs
Percentage : 3
Skills
Trending
engineering
1 %
information systems
1 %
mathematics
1 %
information technology
1 %
javascript
1 %
java
1 %
jquery
0 %
Schools
Top
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
1 %
University of Madras
1 %
Visveswaraiah Technological University
1 %
Anna University
1 %
Bharathidasan University
1 %
University of Pune
1 %
Bharathiar University
0 %
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