Principal software engineer salary
The median posted base pay for principal software engineer jobs is $238K a year, from 437 open jobs at 239 companies. The middle half of the jobs is from $206K to $281K. One job in ten has posted pay above $322K.
- Median posted base pay
- $238K
- Middle half of the jobs
- $206K to $281K
- 10th to 90th percentile
- $175K to $322K
- Open jobs with posted pay
- 437
- Companies
- 239
Software engineer pay by level
Posted base pay for software engineer jobs, by the level in the job title. This page is about the principal level. A level needs 20 or more jobs with posted pay.
- Intern29 jobs$123K$113K to $132K
- Entry level176 jobs$140K$115K to $150K
- Level not stated6,588 jobs$175K$143K to $210K
- Senior4,275 jobs$193K$168K to $220K
- Staff1,568 jobs$230K$205K to $262K
- Principal437 jobs$238K$206K to $281K
- Director+512 jobs$248K$208K to $288K
| Level | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Jobs with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intern | $88K | $113K | $123K | $132K | $149K | 29 |
| Entry level | $92K | $115K | $140K | $150K | $171K | 176 |
| Level not stated | $115K | $143K | $175K | $210K | $250K | 6,588 |
| Senior | $141K | $168K | $193K | $220K | $244K | 4,275 |
| Staff | $181K | $205K | $230K | $262K | $293K | 1,568 |
| Principal | $175K | $206K | $238K | $281K | $322K | 437 |
| Director+ | $170K | $208K | $248K | $288K | $333K | 512 |
Top-paying companies for principal software engineer jobs
The companies with the highest median posted base pay for principal software engineer jobs. A company name opens its levels in the pay explorer.
- 1Snowflake$322K14 jobs
- 2Roblox$320K26 jobs
- 3Databricks$309K5 jobs
- 4Anduril Industries$256K5 jobs
- 5Salesforce$256K6 jobs
- 6STR$245K14 jobs
- 7Atlassian$242K12 jobs
- 8Rocket Lab Corporation$238K8 jobs
- 9Motional$238K7 jobs
- 10Astera Labs$214K8 jobs
- 11K2 Space $211K6 jobs
- 12Elastic$206K6 jobs
- 13Fidelity Investments$162K9 jobs
Principal software engineer pay by US region
The median posted base pay for principal software engineer jobs in each US region, compared with the median of all US jobs.
- Bay Area142 jobs+17%$280K
- New York30 jobs+15%$275K
- US remote98 jobs−1%$238K
- Other US cities182 jobs−6%$225K
| Region | Median posted base pay | Against the US median | Jobs with pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Area | $280K | +17% | 142 |
| New York | $275K | +15% | 30 |
| US remote | $238K | −1% | 98 |
| Other US cities | $225K | −6% | 182 |
| All US jobs | $240K | 0% | 405 |
Related pay pages
Other levels
By place
How we compute these numbers
We read each job from the job board of the company and check it every day. We use only open jobs that state a yearly pay range in US dollars. One job counts with the middle point of its posted range. The median is the middle value of these amounts: half of the jobs are above it and half are below it.
We do not use a range with a bottom below $15,000, a top above $1,000,000, or a top that is more than four times the bottom. A role page needs 20 or more open jobs with posted pay. In the bar chart, a company needs 5 or more jobs with posted pay.
The numbers are base pay as the company posted it. They are not the pay of a person, and they do not include stock, a bonus or benefits. For the stock and the bonus that people reported, see Reported pay.