Software Development Principal Engineer Salaries

601 verified profiles
Last updated on October 15, 2026
Average Annual Total Compensation is $446k

Employees as Software Development Principal Engineer earn an average of $446k, mostly ranging from $323k to $1219k based on 601 profiles.

Average total compvs top-paid
Multi-ethnic
$522k n=4
100%
Asian
$434k n=71
83%
White
$395k n=82
76%
Black
$327k n=3
63%
Overall average $414k6figr.com
For every $100 paid to Multi-ethnic employees, Blacks are paid $63
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills
Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $241k

Stocks: $54k

(Today) (9.2%) $59k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$343k

(Today) (1.5%) $348k

13yrs
NA
Masters

Works in New York, NY

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $190k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (8.8%) $42k

Bonus: $29k

TC:$258k

(Today) (1.3%) $261k

18yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Atlanta, GA

Research Scientist (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (11.1%) $87k

Bonus: $59k

TC:$343k

(Today) (2.5%) $352k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $274k

Stocks: $647k

(Today) (12.1%) $725k

Bonus: -

TC:$921k

(Today) (8.5%) $1000k

20yrs
NA
Phd

Works in San Francisco, CA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $255k

Stocks: $75k

(Today) (10.5%) $82k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$378k

(Today) (2.1%) $386k

9yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

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Production Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $39k

(Today) (7.9%) $42k

Bonus: $39k

TC:$284k

(Today) (1.1%) $287k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Data Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $217k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (8.9%) $68k

Bonus: $43k

TC:$322k

(Today) (1.7%) $328k

21yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $206k

Stocks: $85k

(Today) (3.7%) $89k

Bonus: $41k

TC:$332k

(Today) (1.0%) $335k

7yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Dallas, TX

Base: $198k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (3.0%) $80k

Bonus: $122k

TC:$398k

(Today) (0.6%) $400k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Portland, OR

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $215k

Stocks: $89k

(Today) (1.6%) $91k

Bonus: $56k

TC:$361k

(Today) (0.4%) $362k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

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

Employees as Software Development Principal Engineer earn an average of $446k, mostly ranging from $323k per year to $1219k per year based on 601 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $701k per year.

What is the average salary of Software Development Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Software Development Principal Engineer is $446k.

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

Highest reported salary offered as Software Development Principal Engineer is $2086k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $701k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1219k per year.

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

0% of employees have skills in c# . 0% also know engineering . 0% also know javascript .

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

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

  • software engineer - $447k per year

  • software engineering manager - $331k per year

  • product manager - $288k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $359k per year.

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

1% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 1% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Software Development Principal Engineer?

2% hold a Graduate degree. 1% hold a PostGraduate degree.

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

0% of employees studied at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad . 0% studied at Anna University .

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

Employees as Software Development Principal Engineer earn an average of $446k, mostly ranging from $323k per year to $1219k per year based on 601 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $701k per year.

What is the average salary of Software Development Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Software Development Principal Engineer is $446k.

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

Highest reported salary offered as Software Development Principal Engineer is $2086k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $701k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1219k per year.

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

0% of employees have skills in c# . 0% also know engineering . 0% also know javascript .

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

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

  • software engineer - $447k per year

  • software engineering manager - $331k per year

  • product manager - $288k per year

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

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $359k per year.

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

1% of employees lie between 31-36 yrs . 1% of the employees fall in the age group of 36-41 yrs .

What qualifications do employees have as Software Development Principal Engineer?

2% hold a Graduate degree. 1% hold a PostGraduate degree.

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

0% of employees studied at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad . 0% studied at Anna University .

Salary Brackets
100-200 k: 1%200-300 k: 21%300-400 k: 37%400-500 k: 11%> 500 k: 30%
  • 100-200 k
  • 200-300 k
  • 300-400 k
  • 400-500 k
  • > 500 k
Age Brackets
31-36 yrs: 50%36-41 yrs: 50%
  • 31-36 yrs
  • 36-41 yrs
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