Principal Software Engineer Salary

How much does a principal software engineer make? Real compensation data updated February 2026.

$191,289

Average Min

$257,090

Average Max

$247,500

Median Salary

$437,000

Top Salary

Entry level: $209,931

Senior level: $300,711

Top earners: $351,826

Related Principal Software Engineer Job Titles

Similar roles and their compensation ranges.

Principal Software Engineer, Backend Engineering

2 open positions

$200,000 - $300,000

salary range

Principal Software Engineer

41 open positions

$194,683 - $258,342

salary range

Senior Principal Software Engineer

4 open positions

$171,475 - $230,525

salary range

Principal Software Engineer, (APIs/microservices/Python/Kafka/Elasticsearch)

5 open positions

$152,000 - $228,000

salary range

Principal Software Engineer (Remote)

2 open positions

$151,535 - $189,418

salary range

Principal Software Engineer Salary by Experience Level

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

Senior

$257,090

average max salary

Range: $191,289 - $257,090

Based on 133 jobs

Top Paying Companies for Principal Software Engineers

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

Snowflake

3 principal software engineer jobs

$290,667 - $417,833

salary range

Motion

2 principal software engineer jobs

$285,000 - $375,000

salary range

Mapbox

3 principal software engineer jobs

$269,450 - $364,550

salary range

Roblox

4 principal software engineer jobs

$288,040 - $336,613

salary range

Highspot

2 principal software engineer jobs

$277,391 - $342,391

salary range

Crusoe

2 principal software engineer jobs

$247,000 - $309,000

salary range

DigitalOcean

5 principal software engineer jobs

$236,122 - $295,152

salary range

Referral Board

2 principal software engineer jobs

$199,700 - $315,900

salary range

Red Cell Partners

2 principal software engineer jobs

$200,000 - $300,000

salary range

Elastic

4 principal software engineer jobs

$177,950 - $281,500

salary range

Principal Software Engineer Salary by Region

Compare principal software engineer compensation across different geographic regions.

Worldwide

55 jobs

$197,259 - $267,360

salary range

North America

78 jobs

$187,080 - $249,848

salary range

Principal Software Engineer Salary by Industry

How principal software engineer salaries vary across different industries.

Engineering

132 jobs

$191,150 - $256,887

salary range

Data

1 jobs

$209,700 - $283,800

salary range

Recent Principal Software Engineer Jobs with Salary

Latest principal software engineer job postings with published compensation.

Principal Software Engineer, (APIs/microservices/Python/Kafka/Elasticsearch)

Recorded Future • Chicago, IL

$152,000 - $228,000

Principal Software Engineer, (APIs/microservices/Python/Kafka/Elasticsearch)

Recorded Future • Atlanta, GA

$152,000 - $228,000

Principal Software Engineer, (APIs/microservices/Python/Kafka/Elasticsearch)

Recorded Future • Washington, D.C

$152,000 - $228,000

Principal Software Engineer (USA)

Trexquant Investment • New York, New York, United States

$175,000 - $200,000

Principal Software Engineer, SDN Networking

Crusoe • Remote

$238,000 - $298,000

Principal Software Engineer - Payments Platform

BILL • San Jose, California, United States

$240,800 - $301,100

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.