Software Development Principal Engineer Salaries

482 verified profiles
Last updated on February 12, 2026
Average Annual Total Compensation is $434k

Employees as Software Development Principal Engineer earn an average of $434k, mostly ranging from $320k to $989k based on 482 profiles.

👨‍💻 Male $412k Male
Average Salary : $ 412 k
👩‍💻 Female $445k Female
Average Salary : $ 445 k
🧑 Non-binary $520k Non-binary
Average Salary : $ 520 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $108
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills
Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $208k

Stocks: $76k

(Today) (20.3%) $61k

Bonus: $49k

TC:$333k

(Today) (4.7%) $318k

9yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Redmond, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $235k

Stocks: $118k

(Today) (22.2%) $92k

Bonus: $55k

TC:$408k

(Today) (6.4%) $382k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Security Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $210k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (23.0%) $48k

Bonus: $31k

TC:$303k

(Today) (4.7%) $288k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Mountain View, CA

Full Stack Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $245k

Stocks: $88k

(Today) (22.8%) $68k

Bonus: $82k

TC:$416k

(Today) (4.8%) $395k

22yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Los Angeles, CA

Frontend Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $227k

Stocks: $62k

(Today) (20.9%) $49k

Bonus: $45k

TC:$334k

(Today) (3.9%) $321k

20yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Mountain View, CA

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Security Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $229k

Stocks: $78k

(Today) (20.7%) $62k

Bonus: $132k

TC:$439k

(Today) (3.7%) $422k

20yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $211k

Stocks: $108k

(Today) (20.7%) $86k

Bonus: $42k

TC:$361k

(Today) (6.2%) $338k

8yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Seattle, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $247k

Stocks: $411k

(Today) (8.9%) $374k

Bonus: -

TC:$658k

(Today) (5.5%) $622k

14yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Seattle, WA

Backend engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $247k

Stocks: $294k

(Today) (9.7%) $266k

Bonus: -

TC:$541k

(Today) (5.3%) $513k

16yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Seattle, WA

Base: $199k

Stocks: $54k

(Today) (19.5%) $44k

Bonus: $40k

TC:$293k

(Today) (3.6%) $282k

10yrs
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 $434k, mostly ranging from $320k per year to $989k per year based on 482 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $684k per year.

What is the average salary of Software Development Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Software Development Principal Engineer is $434k.

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

Highest reported salary offered as Software Development Principal Engineer is $1746k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $684k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $989k 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 - $435k 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 $355k per year.

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

2% 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. 2% 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 $434k, mostly ranging from $320k per year to $989k per year based on 482 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $684k per year.

What is the average salary of Software Development Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Software Development Principal Engineer is $434k.

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

Highest reported salary offered as Software Development Principal Engineer is $1746k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $684k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $989k 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 - $435k 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 $355k per year.

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

2% 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. 2% 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
Percentage
100-200 k 100-200 k
Percentage : 1
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 21
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 35
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 11
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 28
Age Brackets
Percentage
21-26 yrs 21-26 yrs
Percentage : 0
26-31 yrs 26-31 yrs
Percentage : 0
31-36 yrs 31-36 yrs
Percentage : 2
36-41 yrs 36-41 yrs
Percentage : 1
Skills
Trending
c#
0 %
engineering
0 %
javascript
0 %
android studio
0 %
augmented reality
0 %
cassandra
0 %
computer engineering
0 %
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