Software Principal Engineer Salaries

2910 verified profiles
Last updated on July 6, 2025
Average Annual Total Compensation is $307k

Employees as Software Principal Engineer earn an average of $307k, mostly ranging from $200k to $1091k based on 2910 profiles.

👨‍💻 Male $304k Male
Average Salary : $ 304 k
👩‍💻 Female $304k Female
Average Salary : $ 304 k
🧑 Non-binary $264k Non-binary
Average Salary : $ 264 k
For every $100 paid to men, women are paid $100
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Salary Profiles
Company
Title(Level)
Annual Salary
Experience
School
Degree
Location
Skills

Base: $210k

Stocks: -

Bonus: -

TC:$210k

27.3yrs
Bachelors

Works in San Jose

Base: $239k

Stocks: $502k

Bonus: $60k

TC:$801k

16.8yrs
Bachelors in computer science & engineering

Works in California, United States

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $204k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (20.3%) $77k

Bonus: $44k

TC:$312k

(Today) (4.1%) $325k

17yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Machine Learning Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $218k

Stocks: $107k

(Today) (20.1%) $128k

Bonus: $63k

TC:$388k

(Today) (5.5%) $410k

11yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Redmond, WA

Base: $202k

Stocks: $101k

(Today) (12.4%) $114k

Bonus: $56k

TC:$359k

(Today) (3.5%) $372k

13.1yrs
Masters in computer science

Works in Sunnyvale, California, United States

Base: $262k

Stocks: $194k

(Today) (14.6%) $222k

Bonus: $31k

TC:$487k

(Today) (5.8%) $515k

6yrs
NA
Masters

Works in San Francisco, CA

Security Engineer (Principal Engineer)
Male

Base: $196k

Stocks: $74k

(Today) (37.7%) $46k

Bonus: $15k

TC:$284k

(Today) (9.7%) $257k

10yrs
NA
Masters

Works in Santa Clara, CA

Principal Software Engineer (Principal SDE)
Male

Base: $211k

Stocks: $64k

(Today) (24.0%) $79k

Bonus: $42k

TC:$317k

(Today) (4.8%) $332k

10yrs
NA
Phd

Works in Redmond, WA

Base: $165k

Stocks: $3k

(Today) (10.0%) $3k

Bonus: $35k

TC:$203k

(Today) (0.1%) $203k

19yrs
Masters in data science (applied mathematics & computer science)

Works in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Networking Engineer (Principal Engineer)
Male

Base: $238k

Stocks: $97k

(Today) (44.5%) $140k

Bonus: $59k

TC:$394k

(Today) (11.0%) $437k

30yrs
NA
Bachelors

Works in Milpitas, CA

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

Employees as Software Principal Engineer earn an average of $307k, mostly ranging from $200k per year to $1091k per year based on 2910 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $521k per year.

What is the average salary of Software Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Software Principal Engineer is $307k.

What is the highest salary offered as Software Principal Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered as Software Principal Engineer is $2032k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $521k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1091k per year.

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

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

What are the highest paying jobs as Software Principal Engineer?

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

  • software engineer ii - $359k per year

  • software engineer - $313k per year

  • information technologist - $312k per year

  • hardware engineer - $291k per year

  • product manager - $288k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Software Principal Engineer?
  • software engineer - $141k per year

What is the median salary offered as Software Principal Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $257k per year.

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

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

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

1% of employees studied at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University . 1% studied at University of Madras .

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

Employees as Software Principal Engineer earn an average of $307k, mostly ranging from $200k per year to $1091k per year based on 2910 profiles. The top 10% of employees earn more than $521k per year.

What is the average salary of Software Principal Engineer?

Average salary of an employee as Software Principal Engineer is $307k.

What is the highest salary offered as Software Principal Engineer?

Highest reported salary offered as Software Principal Engineer is $2032k. The top 10% of employees earn more than $521k per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping $1091k per year.

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

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

What are the highest paying jobs as Software Principal Engineer?

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

  • software engineer ii - $359k per year

  • software engineer - $313k per year

  • information technologist - $312k per year

  • hardware engineer - $291k per year

  • product manager - $288k per year

What are the new grad salaries as Software Principal Engineer?
  • software engineer - $141k per year

What is the median salary offered as Software Principal Engineer?

The median salary approximately calculated from salary profiles measured so far is $257k per year.

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

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

Which schools do employees working as Software Principal 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 : 27
200-300 k 200-300 k
Percentage : 19
300-400 k 300-400 k
Percentage : 15
400-500 k 400-500 k
Percentage : 7
> 500 k > 500 k
Percentage : 9
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 %
Anna University
1 %
Visveswaraiah Technological University
1 %
Bharathidasan University
1 %
University of Pune
1 %
Bharathiar University
0 %
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