Principal Software Engineer Developer Salaries

2481 verified profiles
Last updated on March 6, 2026
Average Annual Total Compensation is $316k

Employees as Principal Software Engineer Developer earn an average of $316k, mostly ranging from $211k to $1003k based on 2481 profiles.

👨‍💻 Male $304k Male
Average Salary : $ 304 k
👩‍💻 Female $294k Female
Average Salary : $ 294 k
🧑 Non-binary $264k Non-binary
Average Salary : $ 264 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $97
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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) (9.3%) $133k

Bonus: $35k

TC:$445k

(Today) (3.1%) $431k

23yrs
NA
Associate

Works in Dallas, TX

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $241k

Stocks: $54k

(Today) (15.5%) $46k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$343k

(Today) (2.4%) $335k

13yrs
NA
Masters

Works in New York, NY

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $190k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (15.7%) $33k

Bonus: $29k

TC:$258k

(Today) (2.4%) $252k

18yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Atlanta, GA

Base: $216k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (1.3%) $39k

Bonus: $43k

TC:$298k

(Today) (0.2%) $297k

18yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Irving, TX

Base: $157k

Stocks: $49k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$255k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Durham, NC

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Research Scientist (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (14.0%) $67k

Bonus: $59k

TC:$343k

(Today) (3.2%) $332k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $274k

Stocks: $647k

(Today) (4.4%) $618k

Bonus: -

TC:$921k

(Today) (3.1%) $893k

20yrs
NA
Phd

Works in San Francisco, CA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $255k

Stocks: $75k

(Today) (14.6%) $64k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$378k

(Today) (2.9%) $367k

9yrs
NA
Masters

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

Mobile Engineer (Principal Engineer 1)
Male

Base: $211k

Stocks: $33k

(Today) (46.7%) $18k

Bonus: $21k

TC:$266k

(Today) (5.8%) $250k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in St. Louis, MO

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

Employees as Principal Software Engineer Developer earn an average of $316k, mostly ranging from $211k per year to $1003k per year based on 2481 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $537k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Software Engineer Developer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Software Engineer Developer is $316k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Software Engineer Developer?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Software Engineer Developer is $2086k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $537k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1003k per year.

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

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

What are the highest paying jobs as Principal Software Engineer Developer?

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

  • hardware engineer - $458k per year

  • software engineer ii - $359k per year

  • software engineer - $320k per year

  • software engineering manager - $289k per year

  • principal software engineer - $220k per year

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

What is the median salary offered as Principal Software Engineer Developer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $266k per year.

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

3% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 2% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Principal Software Engineer Developer?

4% hold a Graduate degree. 4% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working as Principal Software Engineer Developer went to?

0% of employees studied at University of Madras . 0% studied at North Carolina State University .

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

Employees as Principal Software Engineer Developer earn an average of $316k, mostly ranging from $211k per year to $1003k per year based on 2481 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $537k per year.

What is the average salary of Principal Software Engineer Developer?

Average salary of an employee as Principal Software Engineer Developer is $316k.

What is the highest salary offered as Principal Software Engineer Developer?

Highest reported salary offered as Principal Software Engineer Developer is $2086k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $537k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1003k per year.

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

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

What are the highest paying jobs as Principal Software Engineer Developer?

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

  • hardware engineer - $458k per year

  • software engineer ii - $359k per year

  • software engineer - $320k per year

  • software engineering manager - $289k per year

  • principal software engineer - $220k per year

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

What is the median salary offered as Principal Software Engineer Developer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $266k per year.

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

3% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 2% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Principal Software Engineer Developer?

4% hold a Graduate degree. 4% hold a PostGraduate degree.

Which schools do employees working as Principal Software Engineer Developer went to?

0% of employees studied at University of Madras . 0% studied at North Carolina State University .

Salary Brackets
Percentage
< 100 k < 100 k
Percentage : 1
100-200 k 100-200 k
Percentage : 30
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 26
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 19
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 8
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 13
Age Brackets
Percentage
21-26 yrs 21-26 yrs
Percentage : 0
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 1
31-36 yrs 31-36 yrs
Percentage : 3
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 2
> 41 yrs > 41 yrs
Percentage : 0
Skills
Trending
engineering
1 %
information systems
1 %
information technology
1 %
mathematics
1 %
physics
0 %
css
0 %
jquery
0 %
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