Side-by-side distribution
Principal Engineer
$223,544
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 45.9%
- Live roles
- 1,775
Quantitative Analyst
$197,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 26.2%
- Live roles
- 206
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Software Engineer
Distinguished Engineer
Staff / Principal Data Engineer
Principal Engineer (Payments)
Principal Engineer
Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Ads Delivery
Principal Research Engineer, Model Training & Post-Training
Principal Engineer, Agentic AI Systems
Principal .NET Software Engineer - Cloud Payments Platform
Principal .NET Software Engineer- Cloud Payments Platform
Highest-paying jobs
Quant Strategist
Quantitative Intelligence Analyst
2027 Internship - Quant Research (Undergrad)
Quantitative Research Analyst - Jersey City, NJ
Campus Quantitative Trader (Full-Time)
Summer Intern 2027 - Quantitative Trader
Software Engineer, Macro Quant Analytics Technology
Algorithm Developer (Quant Research & Trading) – 2027 Grads
Campus Full Time 2027 - Quantitative Trader
Algorithm Developer (Quant Research & Trading) – 2027 PhDs
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Roblox
|
$320,145 | 42 |
| AL Astera Labs | $207,500 | 21 |
Motional
|
$285,000 | 19 |
Elastic
|
$134,329 | 18 |
| SE Sezzle | $111,000 | 16 |
Zscaler
|
$210,375 | 14 |
Anduril Industries
|
$256,000 | 13 |
Snowflake
|
$321,750 | 12 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Hudson River Trading
|
$300,000 | 3 |
|
Stevens Capital Management LP
|
$225,000 | 3 |
Man Group
|
$160,000 | 3 |
|
Five Rings LLC - Careers
|
$300,000 | 2 |
IMC
|
$250,000 | 2 |
|
Virtu Financial
|
$227,900 | 2 |
Graham Capital Management, L.P.
|
$225,000 | 2 |
| DR DRW | $225,000 | 2 |
Principal Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $282,500 | 70 |
| New York | $259,000 | 57 |
| Boston | $250,000 | 45 |
| Austin | $232,000 | 10 |
| Seattle | $231,500 | 33 |
| Chicago | $228,075 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | $225,000 | 31 |
| Toronto | $210,000 | 17 |
| London | $199,724 | 16 |
| Denver | $190,000 | 17 |
Principal Engineer vs Quantitative Analyst: which pays more?
The median for Principal Engineer is $223,544 per year (typically $187,500–$276,000), versus $197,500 for Quantitative Analyst ($150,000–$234,375). That puts Principal Engineer about 13% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Principal Engineer and Quantitative Analyst 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.