Principal Software Engineer Salaries

3431 verified profiles
Last updated on March 3, 2026
Average Annual Total Compensation is $320k

Employees as Principal Software Engineer earn an average of $320k, mostly ranging from $218k to $1001k based on 3431 profiles.

👨‍💻 Male $310k Male
Average Salary : $ 310 k
👩‍💻 Female $298k Female
Average Salary : $ 298 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
Backend engineer (Principal Software Engineer)
Male

Base: $263k

Stocks: $147k

(Today) (19.5%) $118k

Bonus: $35k

TC:$445k

(Today) (6.4%) $416k

23yrs
NA
Associate

Works in Dallas, TX

Base: $216k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (2.0%) $40k

Bonus: $43k

TC:$298k

(Today) (0.3%) $299k

18yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Irving, TX

Base: $157k

Stocks: $49k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$255k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Durham, NC

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $241k

Stocks: $54k

(Today) (16.2%) $46k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$343k

(Today) (2.6%) $335k

13yrs
NA
Masters

Works in New York, NY

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $190k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (16.8%) $32k

Bonus: $29k

TC:$258k

(Today) (2.5%) $252k

18yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Atlanta, GA

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Software Engineer (IC-4)
Male

Base: $165k

Stocks: $243k

Bonus: -

TC:$407k

14yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Seattle, WA

Research Scientist (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (14.9%) $67k

Bonus: $59k

TC:$343k

(Today) (3.4%) $331k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $274k

Stocks: $647k

(Today) (2.8%) $629k

Bonus: -

TC:$921k

(Today) (2.0%) $903k

20yrs
NA
Phd

Works in San Francisco, CA

Software Engineer (Principal Software Engineer)
Male

Base: $151k

Stocks: $29k

Bonus: -

TC:$180k

15yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Los Angeles, CA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $255k

Stocks: $75k

(Today) (15.4%) $63k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$378k

(Today) (3.0%) $367k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, 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 $320k, mostly ranging from $218k per year to $1001k per year based on 3431 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $531k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Software Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Software Engineer is $320k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Software Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Software Engineer is $2086k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $531k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1001k 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 - $325k per year

  • information technologist - $312k per year

  • software engineering manager - $303k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Principal Software Engineer?
  • software engineer - $190k per year

What is the median salary offered as Principal Software Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $277k per year.

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

10% 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 Software Engineer?

11% hold a Graduate degree. 11% 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 $320k, mostly ranging from $218k per year to $1001k per year based on 3431 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $531k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Software Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Software Engineer is $320k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Software Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Software Engineer is $2086k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $531k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1001k 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 - $325k per year

  • information technologist - $312k per year

  • software engineering manager - $303k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Principal Software Engineer?
  • software engineer - $190k per year

What is the median salary offered as Principal Software Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $277k per year.

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

10% 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 Software Engineer?

11% hold a Graduate degree. 11% 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 : 21
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 17
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 8
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 10
Age Brackets
Percentage
21-26 yrs 21-26 yrs
Percentage : 0
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 3
31-36 yrs 31-36 yrs
Percentage : 10
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 7
> 41 yrs > 41 yrs
Percentage : 2
Skills
Trending
engineering
1 %
information systems
1 %
mathematics
1 %
information technology
1 %
javascript
1 %
java
0 %
jquery
0 %
Schools
Top
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
1 %
University of Madras
1 %
Visveswaraiah Technological University
1 %
Anna University
1 %
Bharathidasan University
0 %
University of Pune
0 %
Bharathiar University
0 %
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