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Principal Engineer Jobs in California.

California is the largest state economy in the United States, home to Silicon Valley technology, Hollywood entertainment, aerospace, agriculture, and a vast healthcare and services sector. Its job market stretches from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and San Diego. Browse jobs in California from companies hiring across every field.

Principal engineers set technical direction at the highest individual-contributor level. Browse principal engineer jobs from companies hiring worldwide.

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Total jobs
1,375
positions indexed
New today
75
last 24 hours
Companies
280
actively hiring
Worldwide remote
0
from anywhere

How many Principal Engineer jobs in California are there right now?

There are 1,375 open Principal Engineer jobs in California on JobsRadar right now, from 280 companies hiring directly. 1,013 of them disclose pay, with a median of $205,375 a year and most offers between $156,550 and $263,250. 75 were added in the last 24 hours; the board was last refreshed on October 21, 2026 at 03:37 UTC.

Principal Engineer salary range in California

$156.6k 25th
$205.4k Median
$263.3k 75th
$129.5k
$320.1k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $20k – $600k · outliers off-axis
Based on 1,013 disclosed live listings
Updated Oct 21, 2026 from live listings
See full salary breakdown
role: Principal Engineer in: California Clear all
Sort Newest Top salary
SN
Principal Software Engineer - Elastic Global Services
Snowflake
⚡ Apply early US-CA-Menlo Park Onsite $264,000–$379,500
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 36m ago
Roblox
Distinguished Engineer, Machine Learning - Economy
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $397,460–$455,720
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 4h ago
Varda Space Industries
Principal Avionics Hardware Development Engineer
Varda Space Industries
⚡ Apply early El Segundo, California, United... Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 4h ago
Varda Space Industries
Principal RF Components Engineer
Varda Space Industries
⚡ Apply early El Segundo, California, United... Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5h ago
Varda Space Industries
Principal Mechanisms Engineer - Payloads
Varda Space Industries
⚡ Apply early El Segundo, California, United... Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5h ago
Varda Space Industries
Principal Manufacturing Engineer - Payloads
Varda Space Industries
⚡ Apply early El Segundo, California, United... Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5h ago
Varda Space Industries
Principal Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Engineer
Varda Space Industries
⚡ Apply early El Segundo, California, United... Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5h ago
Varda Space Industries
Principal Fluid Systems Engineer - Payloads
Varda Space Industries
⚡ Apply early El Segundo, California, United... Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5h ago
northwoodspace
Principal Electrical Engineer
northwoodspace
⚡ Apply early Torrance, CA Onsite $204,000–$255,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5h ago
Roblox
Principal Software Engineer - Streaming
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $295,250–$345,040
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Software Engineer, App Performance
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $295,250–$345,040
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Software Engineer, Engine Systems
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Hybrid $295,250–$345,040
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Software Engineer, Core Services
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $345,040–$399,420
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Software Engineer - Object Store
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $295,250–$345,040
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Software Engineer, Build
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $295,250–$345,040
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Software Engineer- Agentic Customer Care
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $295,250–$345,040
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Client Platform Engineer
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Hybrid $230,980–$267,390
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Software Engineer, Ads User Experience
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $295,250–$345,040
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Alt Defense
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $328,610–$399,420
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
Roblox
Principal Software Engineer, Creator Game Operations
Roblox
⚡ Apply early San Mateo, CA, United States Onsite $295,250–$345,040
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6h ago
PsiQuantum
Principal Hardware Design Engineer
PsiQuantum
⚡ Apply early Milpitas, California Onsite $235,600–$276,800
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 7h ago
PsiQuantum
Principal Characterization-Failure Analysis Engineer
PsiQuantum
⚡ Apply early Milpitas, California Onsite $208,300–$244,700
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 7h ago
CHAOS Industries
Principal Mechanical Engineer
CHAOS Industries
⚡ Apply early El Segundo, California, United... Onsite $160,000–$260,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 7h ago
LS
Staff/ Principal Software Engineer, Scientific System of Record
Lila Sciences
⚡ Apply early Cambridge, MA USA; San Francis... Onsite $204,000–$310,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 7h ago
LS
Principal Software Engineer, App
Lila Sciences
⚡ Apply early Cambridge, MA USA; San Francis... Onsite $204,000–$348,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 7h ago

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Frequently asked questions

How many Principal Engineer jobs in California are open right now?
1,375 Principal Engineer jobs in California are open across 280 companies, as of October 21, 2026.
What do Principal Engineer jobs in California pay?
Across the 1,013 Principal Engineer jobs in California that disclose pay, the median is $205,375 a year, and the middle half of offers falls between $156,550 and $263,250.
Which companies are hiring Principal Engineer jobs in California?
Snowflake, Roblox, Varda Space Industries, northwoodspace and PsiQuantum are among the 280 companies currently hiring Principal Engineer jobs in California.
How current are these listings?
Every listing comes straight from the employer’s own careers system and is re-checked three times a day. This page was last updated on October 21, 2026 at 03:37 UTC.

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