Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$183,350
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.2%
- Live roles
- 2,599
Principal Engineer
$168,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 47.8%
- Live roles
- 6,468
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Expert Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer, Perpetuals
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Backend Software Engineer, GTM Innovation
Software Engineer, API Multicloud
Software Engineer, API Agents
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Software Engineer
Staff / Principal Data Engineer
Principal Engineer, Agentic AI Systems
Principal Research Engineer, Model Training & Post-Training
Distinguished Engineer - Servicing Tech
Principal Sales Systems Engineer
Principal Software Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Principal Security Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Principal Engineer, Autonomy
Senior Principal Software Engineer, Ads Quality
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$158,000 | 55 |
Air Apps
|
$65,555 | 33 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 18 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 14 |
Grafana Labs
|
$148,144 | 12 |
Verkada
|
$225,000 | 11 |
| KA Kalepa | $219,000 | 11 |
Robinhood
|
$180,500 | 9 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Northrop Grumman
|
$129,500 | 1,024 |
Elastic
|
$123,105 | 60 |
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
|
$260,500 | 49 |
Roblox
|
$320,145 | 47 |
| AL Astera Labs | $209,000 | 41 |
Leidos
|
$184,325 | 39 |
Blue Origin
|
$219,831 | 38 |
Draper
|
$170,000 | 38 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,250 | 148 |
| New York | $205,000 | 176 |
| Seattle | $200,000 | 53 |
| Los Angeles | $196,000 | 17 |
| Boston | $184,300 | 21 |
| Denver | $167,950 | 11 |
| Austin | $160,000 | 13 |
| Chicago | $156,175 | 12 |
| Atlanta | $153,925 | 4 |
| Singapore | $143,861 | 6 |
Principal Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $266,000 | 100 |
| Seattle | $245,417 | 98 |
| New York | $231,025 | 128 |
| Los Angeles | $230,750 | 50 |
| Atlanta | $228,000 | 23 |
| Boston | $222,000 | 76 |
| Denver | $203,549 | 43 |
| Chicago | $200,850 | 39 |
| Austin | $200,000 | 45 |
| Berlin | $159,275 | 3 |
Backend Engineer vs Principal Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $183,350 per year (typically $140,553–$220,000), versus $168,500 for Principal Engineer ($130,299–$216,263). That puts Backend Engineer about 9% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and Principal Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.