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Principal Software Engineer Salary

How much does a principal software engineer make? Real compensation data updated December 2025.

$197,219
Average Min
$265,546
Average Max
$257,500
Median Salary
$421,000
Top Salary
Entry level: $209,739
Senior level: $318,975
Top earners: $364,550

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Related Principal Software Engineer Job Titles

Similar roles and their compensation ranges.

1

Principal Software Engineer

24 open positions

$188,642 - $259,078
salary range
2

Principal C++ Embedded Software Engineer

2 open positions

$175,000 - $234,000
salary range
3

Senior Principal Software Engineer

3 open positions

$156,967 - $212,367
salary range
4

Principal Software Engineer - AI Governance

2 open positions

$139,725 - $209,587
salary range

Principal Software Engineer Salary by Experience Level

How principal software engineer salaries vary based on seniority and experience.

Senior

$265,546
average max salary
Range: $197,219 - $265,546
Based on 89 jobs

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Top Paying Companies for Principal Software Engineers

Companies offering the highest principal software engineer salaries based on their job listings.

1

Waymo

4 principal software engineer jobs

$332,000 - $421,000
salary range
2

Instacart

1 principal software engineer jobs

$335,000 - $372,000
salary range
3

Block

1 principal software engineer jobs

$263,600 - $395,400
salary range
4

Roblox

7 principal software engineer jobs

$296,433 - $345,887
salary range
5

Mapbox

1 principal software engineer jobs

$269,450 - $364,550
salary range
6

LinkedIn

1 principal software engineer jobs

$226,000 - $369,000
salary range
7

Crusoe

2 principal software engineer jobs

$247,000 - $309,000
salary range
8

DigitalOcean

5 principal software engineer jobs

$236,122 - $295,152
salary range
9

Elastic

5 principal software engineer jobs

$199,700 - $315,900
salary range
10

Vast

3 principal software engineer jobs

$214,100 - $283,800
salary range

Principal Software Engineer Salary by Region

Compare principal software engineer compensation across different geographic regions.

North America

61 jobs

$200,014 - $271,351
salary range

Worldwide

27 jobs

$194,279 - $256,569
salary range

Principal Software Engineer Salary by Industry

How principal software engineer salaries vary across different industries.

Engineering

88 jobs

$197,872 - $266,182
salary range

Data

1 jobs

$139,725 - $209,587
salary range

Recent Principal Software Engineer Jobs with Salary

Latest principal software engineer job postings with published compensation.

Senior/Staff/Principal Software Engineer (HHS)

Skylight • United States

$90,000 - $125,000

Sr Principal Software Engineer (L7 Security)

Palo Alto Networks • Santa Clara

$170,000 - $277,000

Principal Staff Software Engineer - Compute Infrastructure - 15422

LinkedIn • Sunnyvale

$226,000 - $369,000

Principal Software QA Engineer

Veracyte • Remote ; San Diego, California, United States; South San Francisco, California, United States

$157,200 - $173,600

Principal Software Engineer

Ro • New York, NY

$251,200 - $340,000

Principal Software Engineer

DigitalOcean • Denver

$227,040 - $283,800
View all Principal Software Engineer jobs

Find Principal Software Engineer Jobs with Transparent Salaries

Browse principal software engineer positions from companies that share compensation upfront.

Browse Principal Software Engineer Jobs View Salary Guide

Real Job Data

Salaries from actual principal software engineer job postings.

Updated Regularly

Data refreshed as new jobs are posted.

USD Based

All figures in US Dollars, annual.