Principal software engineer salary in the San Francisco Bay Area
The median posted base pay for principal software engineer jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area is $280K a year, from 142 open jobs at 68 companies. The middle half of the jobs is from $240K to $320K. One job in ten has posted pay above $372K.
- Median posted base pay
- $280K
- Middle half of the jobs
- $240K to $320K
- 10th to 90th percentile
- $216K to $372K
- Open jobs with posted pay
- 142
- Companies
- 68
Software engineer pay by level in the San Francisco Bay Area
Posted base pay for software engineer jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area, by the level in the job title. This page is about the principal level. A level needs 20 or more jobs with posted pay.
- Intern21 jobs$123K$123K to $132K
- Entry level57 jobs$146K$140K to $164K
- Level not stated2,228 jobs$198K$164K to $240K
- Senior1,296 jobs$209K$190K to $230K
- Staff660 jobs$240K$215K to $273K
- Principal142 jobs$280K$240K to $320K
- Director+143 jobs$278K$246K to $310K
| Level | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Jobs with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intern | $105K | $123K | $123K | $132K | $149K | 21 |
| Entry level | $130K | $140K | $146K | $164K | $175K | 57 |
| Level not stated | $143K | $164K | $198K | $240K | $292K | 2,228 |
| Senior | $167K | $190K | $209K | $230K | $262K | 1,296 |
| Staff | $192K | $215K | $240K | $273K | $316K | 660 |
| Principal | $216K | $240K | $280K | $320K | $372K | 142 |
| Director+ | $206K | $246K | $278K | $310K | $372K | 143 |
Top-paying companies for principal software engineer jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area
The companies with the highest median posted base pay for principal software engineer jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area. A company name opens its levels in the pay explorer.
- 1Snowflake$322K11 jobs
- 2Roblox$320K26 jobs
- 3Databricks$309K5 jobs
- 4Salesforce$256K5 jobs
- 5Astera Labs$214K8 jobs
- Company salaries:
- Snowflake
- Roblox
- Databricks
- Salesforce
- Astera Labs
Related pay pages
Open jobs
Other levels in the San Francisco Bay Area
Other places
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.