Principal Software Engineer salary in US
Average Base Salary in US
$170,338
$40,494
Additional Cash Compensation
$210,832
Total Compensation
Median: 158,000
Min: $86K
Max: $375K
How Much Does a Principal Software Engineer Make in US?
The average salary for a Principal Software Engineer in US is $170,338. The average additional cash compensation for a Principal Software Engineer in US is $40,494. The average total compensation for a Principal Software Engineer in US is $210,832. Principal Software Engineer salaries are based on responses gathered by Built In from anonymous Principal Software Engineer employees in US.
Add your Principal Software Engineer in US salary info
Principal Software Engineer
Account Executive Account Manager Accountant Aerospace Engineer AI Engineer Analytics Manager Android Developer App Developer Application Engineer Art Director Associate Product Manager Automation Engineer AWS Developer Back End Developer Big Data Engineer Blockchain Developer Brand Manager Budget Analyst Business Analyst Business Development Manager Business Development Representative Business Intelligence Analyst Business Intelligence Developer Business Intelligence Developer Business Intelligence Manager CCO (Chief Creative Officer) CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Chief Information Officer Chief People Officer CIO (Chief Information Officer) Client Success Manager Cloud Engineer Cloud Security Engineer CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) Community Manager Content Manager Content Marketing Manager Content Strategist Controller COO (Chief Operating Officer) Copywriter CPO (Chief Product Officer) Creative Chief Officer Creative Director CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) CTO (Chief Technology Officer) Customer Support Manager Customer Support Rep Cybersecurity Engineer Data Analyst Data Architect Data Engineer Data Engineering Manager Data Scientist Database Administrator Database Developer Design Director Design Engineer Desktop Support DevOps Engineer Digital Marketing Manager Director of Analytics Director of Customer Success Director of Marketing Director of Operations Director of Product Management Director of Product Marketing Director of Software Engineering Editor Email Marketing Manager Engineering Manager Event Planner Finance Director Financial Analyst Front End Developer Full Stack Developer Game Designer Game Developer Graphic Designer Hardware Engineer HR Coordinator HR Director HR Manager HR Specialist Implementation Manager Implementation Specialist Inside Sales Manager Inside Sales Representative Instructional Designer iOS Developer IT Engineer Java Developer Javascript Developer Junior Business Analyst Junior Data Analyst Junior Data Scientist Junior Software Developer Junior Software Engineer Junior Web Developer Lead Software Engineer Machine Learning Engineer Market Research Analyst Marketing Analyst Marketing Assistant Marketing Associate Marketing Coordinator Marketing Manager Marketing Operations Manager Marketing Project Manager Marketing Specialist Network Engineer Office Manager Operations Associate Operations Manager Power BI Developer Principal Software Engineer Product Analyst Product Designer Product Manager Product Marketing Manager Product Owner Project Coordinator Project Manager Public Relations Manager Public Relations Specialist Python Developer QA Analyst QA Engineer QA Manager Quant Developer React Developer Recruiter Robotics Engineer RPA Developer Sales Associate Sales Coordinator Sales Development Representative Sales Director Sales Engineer Sales Manager Sales Operations Analyst Sales Operations Manager Salesforce Developer Scrum Master Security Engineer Senior Accountant Senior Business Analyst Senior Data Analyst Senior Data Engineer Senior Data Scientist Senior Financial Analyst Senior Graphic Designer Senior Marketing Manager Senior Product Designer Senior Product Manager Senior Product Marketing Manager Senior Project Manager Senior Recruiter Senior Software Developer Senior Software Engineer Senior Systems Engineer Senior Technical Writer Senior UI Designer Senior UX Designer SEO Manager SEO Specialist Site Reliability Engineer Social Media Manager Software Developer Software Engineer Software Sales Representative Software Test Engineer SQL Developer Systems Engineer Tableau Developer Tech Sales Representative Technical Product Manager Technical Project Manager Technical Recruiter Technical Support Technical Writer Test Engineer UI Designer UX Designer UX Researcher Vice President of Care Vice President of Engineering Vice President of Finance Vice President of Human Resources Vice President of Marketing Vice President of Operations Vice President of People Vice President of Product Vice President of Sales Vice President of Talent Acquisition Visual Designer Web Designer Web Developer Wordpress Developer
US
US Remote Albuquerque, NM Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Baltimore, MD Birmingham, AL Boise, ID Boston, MA Buffalo, NY Charleston, SC Charlotte, NC Chicago, IL Cincinnati, OH Cleveland, OH Colorado, CO Colorado Springs Fort Collins Greater Boulder Area Greater Denver Area Western Colorado Columbus, OH Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Des Moines, IA Detroit, MI Hartford, CT Houston, TX Indianapolis, IN Kansas City, MO Las Vegas, NV Los Angeles, CA Orange County Madison, WI Memphis, TN Miami, FL Milwaukee, WI Minneapolis–Saint Paul, MN Nashville, TN New Orleans, LA New York City, NY Princeton-Trenton Oklahoma City, OK Omaha, NE Orlando, FL Philadelphia, PA Phoenix – Mesa – Scottsdale, AZ Pittsburgh, PA Portland, OR Providence, RI Raleigh-Durham, NC Sacramento, CA Salt Lake City, UT San Antonio, TX San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA St. Louis, MO Tampa Bay, FL Washington DC
Salary Insights
Principal Software Engineer Salary by gender
The average Principal Software Engineer salary for women is $187,302 and the average Principal Software Engineer salary for men is $178,695.
Principal Software Engineer Salary by Years of Experience
The average salary for a Principal Software Engineer with 7+ years of experience is $177,523.
Principal Software Engineer Salary ranges
The most common Principal Software Engineer salary in US is between $180k - $190k.
Average Dev + Engineer salaries in US
| Job Title | Average Salary | Salary Range |
|---|---|---|
| Wordpress Developer | $71,129 | Min: $55K Max: $96K |
| Junior Web Developer | $76,862 | Min: $64K Max: $93K |
| Implementation Specialist | $79,953 | Min: $38K Max: $235K |
| QA Analyst | $84,255 | Min: $28K Max: $166K |
| Junior Software Developer | $87,847 | Min: $55K Max: $120K |
| RPA Developer | $89,414 | Min: $80K Max: $127K |
| Junior Software Engineer | $89,547 | Min: $0K Max: $190K |
| Tableau Developer | $94,349 | Min: $87K Max: $121K |
| Web Developer | $98,140 | Min: $72K Max: $153K |
| QA Engineer | $99,382 | Min: $40K Max: $230K |
| Software Test Engineer | $100,944 | Min: $40K Max: $200K |
| Javascript Developer | $102,449 | Min: $84K Max: $119K |
| Test Engineer | $102,576 | Min: $29K Max: $191K |
| SQL Developer | $104,864 | Min: $89K Max: $130K |
| Automation Engineer | $105,616 | Min: $10K Max: $240K |
| React Developer | $105,911 | Min: $85K Max: $153K |
| Power BI Developer | $107,870 | Min: $95K Max: $155K |
| AWS Developer | $108,134 | Min: $92K Max: $150K |
| Front End Developer | $108,976 | Min: $0K Max: $330K |
| Android Developer | $112,068 | Min: $0K Max: $310K |
| Python Developer | $112,382 | Min: $85K Max: $160K |
| Salesforce Developer | $113,097 | Min: $45K Max: $220K |
| Network Engineer | $113,313 | Min: $70K Max: $252K |
| Application Engineer | $115,763 | Min: $80K Max: $225K |
| Game Developer | $115,999 | Min: $4K Max: $214K |
| Database Developer | $116,420 | Min: $90K Max: $160K |
| iOS Developer | $117,241 | Min: $2K Max: $391K |
| App Developer | $118,585 | Min: $51K Max: $197K |
| IT Engineer | $123,141 | Min: $61K Max: $202K |
| Systems Engineer | $123,330 | Min: $55K Max: $301K |
| Data Engineer | $125,009 | Min: $0K Max: $300K |
| Blockchain Developer | $127,025 | Min: $75K Max: $245K |
| Sales Engineer | $128,369 | Min: $9K Max: $305K |
| Security Engineer | $128,773 | Min: $10K Max: $299K |
| Site Reliability Engineer | $129,632 | Min: $70K Max: $300K |
| Database Administrator | $131,067 | Min: $69K Max: $260K |
| QA Manager | $131,314 | Min: $45K Max: $225K |
| DevOps Engineer | $132,277 | Min: $25K Max: $250K |
| Aerospace Engineer | $133,861 | Min: $94K Max: $235K |
| Cloud Security Engineer | $135,598 | Min: $95K Max: $250K |
| Software Engineer | $136,462 | Min: $0K Max: $400K |
| Robotics Engineer | $136,642 | Min: $89K Max: $302K |
| Java Developer | $138,886 | Min: $87K Max: $240K |
| Cloud Engineer | $139,036 | Min: $85K Max: $216K |
| Hardware Engineer | $140,501 | Min: $64K Max: $343K |
| Senior Data Engineer | $141,038 | Min: $30K Max: $343K |
| Software Developer | $143,825 | Min: $48K Max: $285K |
| Senior Systems Engineer | $145,543 | Min: $110K Max: $250K |
| Data Architect | $145,653 | Min: $0K Max: $290K |
| Design Engineer | $148,878 | Min: $83K Max: $233K |
| Lead Software Engineer | $152,781 | Min: $44K Max: $300K |
| Business Intelligence Developer | $153,400 | Min: $80K Max: $250K |
| Senior Software Engineer | $154,669 | Min: $18K Max: $366K |
| Full Stack Developer | $157,286 | Min: $80K Max: $260K |
| Machine Learning Engineer | $157,445 | Min: $70K Max: $285K |
| Cybersecurity Engineer | $159,473 | Min: $60K Max: $333K |
| Data Engineering Manager | $163,024 | Min: $110K Max: $255K |
| Back End Developer | $163,775 | Min: $68K Max: $300K |
| Senior Software Developer | $164,342 | Min: $95K Max: $300K |
| Principal Software Engineer | $170,338 | Min: $86K Max: $375K |
| AI Engineer | $171,194 | Min: $80K Max: $338K |
| Engineering Manager | $171,432 | Min: $0K Max: $450K |
| Director of Software Engineering | $194,806 | Min: $2K Max: $420K |
| Quant Developer | $196,161 | Min: $127K Max: $500K |
| CTO (Chief Technology Officer) | $223,122 | Min: $0K Max: $575K |
| Vice President of Engineering | $224,452 | Min: $130K Max: $500K |
| CIO (Chief Information Officer) | $226,866 | Min: $83K Max: $450K |
FAQ
Q:
A.
A principal software engineer leads engineering teams in developing and testing software projects, working to guarantee software projects meet quality standards and are completed on time.
Q:
How to become a principal software engineer?
A.
To become a principal software engineer, you will likely need at least 10 years of software development experience as well as a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field like computer science. Preparation for this position includes extensive coding and programming expertise, as well as management experience.
Q:
How much does a principal software engineer make?
A.
The salary range for a principal software engineer is $55K-$305K. The average salary for a Principal Software Engineer in US is $170,338.
Career Info
Principal Software Engineer jobs in US
Skills that affect Principal Software Engineer salaries in US
1
Java
1% have this skill
2
.NET
1% have this skill
3
Javascript
1% have this skill
4
Python
0% have this skill
5
SQL
0% have this skill
6
C#
0% have this skill
Average Principal Software Engineer Salary by Company Size
People with the job title Principal Software Engineer make the most at companies with 1-10 employees, earning $169,097 on average.
Recent Principal Software Engineer salaries in US
$188,000
Yearly Salary
A Principal Software Engineer reported a yearly salary of $188,000
7+ Years of Experience
Female
51-200 Employees
Chicago, IL
$225,000
Yearly Salary
A Principal Software Engineer reported a yearly salary of $225,000
7+ Years of Experience
Male
11-50 Employees
San Francisco, CA
$207,500
Yearly Salary
A Software Engineer Principal reported a yearly salary of $207,500 with +$24,900 in additional cash compensation
7+ Years of Experience
Male
1,000+ Employees
Remote
$195,000
Yearly Salary
A Software Architect III reported a yearly salary of $195,000 with +$23,400 in additional cash compensation
5-7 Years of Experience
Male
1,000+ Employees
Remote
$185,000
Yearly Salary
A Principal Software Engineer reported a yearly salary of $185,000 with +$18,500 in additional cash compensation
7+ Years of Experience
Prefer not to say
201-500 Employees
Boston, MA
$175,000
Yearly Salary
A Principal Software Engineer reported a yearly salary of $175,000 with +$26,250 in additional cash compensation
7+ Years of Experience
Male
501-1,000 Employees
Greater Denver Area
$208,000
Yearly Salary
A Principal Software Engineer reported a yearly salary of $208,000 with +$20,800 in additional cash compensation
7+ Years of Experience
Male
201-500 Employees
Austin, TX
$205,500
Yearly Salary
A Principal Software Engineer reported a yearly salary of $205,500
3-5 Years of Experience
Other
51-200 Employees
San Francisco, CA
$220,000
Yearly Salary
A Principal Software Engineer reported a yearly salary of $220,000 with +$22,000 in additional cash compensation
7+ Years of Experience
Male
51-200 Employees
Remote
$237,000
Yearly Salary
A Principal Mobile Engineer reported a yearly salary of $237,000 with +$23,000 in additional cash compensation
5-7 Years of Experience
Prefer not to say
1,000+ Employees
Remote