Jobs › Principal Engineer

Principal Engineer Jobs in San Diego.

San Diego is a major hub for biotechnology, defense, and telecommunications, with a growing technology and tourism economy. Browse jobs in San Diego 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.

New engineering jobs daily on Telegram
Total jobs
170
positions indexed
New today
0
last 24 hours
Companies
22
actively hiring
Worldwide remote
0
from anywhere

How many Principal Engineer jobs in San Diego are there right now?

There are 170 open Principal Engineer jobs in San Diego on JobsRadar right now, from 22 companies hiring directly. 160 of them disclose pay, with a median of $150,750 a year and most offers between $142,500 and $177,800. The board was last refreshed on September 8, 2026 at 05:17 UTC.

Principal Engineer salary range in San Diego

$142.5k 25th
$150.8k Median
$177.8k 75th
$121.6k
$205.3k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $125.2k – $376.8k · outliers off-axis
Based on 160 disclosed live listings
Updated Sep 8, 2026 from live listings
See full salary breakdown
role: Principal Engineer in: San Diego Clear all
Sort Newest Top salary
STR
Principal Software Reverse Engineer
STR
⚡ Apply early Melbourne, FL Onsite $204,000–$284,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 2d ago
STR
Principal Software Reverse Engineer
STR
⚡ Apply early Arlington, VA Onsite $204,000–$284,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 2d ago
STR
Principal Software Reverse Engineer
STR
⚡ Apply early Woburn, MA Onsite $204,000–$284,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 2d ago
STR
Principal Software Reverse Engineer
STR
⚡ Apply early San Diego, CA Onsite $204,000–$284,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 2d ago
Northrop Grumman
Sr Principal Network Engineer - Secret
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $129,300–$193,900
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 3d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal Cyber Systems Engineer
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $125,300–$187,900
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 3d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal or Sr Principal Engineer Electrical
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $114,000–$171,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 4d ago
Northrop Grumman
Sr Principal Systems Engineer - Radar Systems
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-Oklahoma-Oklahom... Onsite $116,300–$213,400
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 4d ago
Caterpillar
Principal NPI Mechanical Design Engineer
Caterpillar
⚡ Apply early San Diego, California Onsite $120,600–$180,900
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 4d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal Engineer Mission Assurance
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $114,000–$171,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 4d ago
Avantus
Sr. or Principal Engineer, HV Engineering
Avantus
⚡ Apply early (Hybrid) San Diego, CA, USA or... Hybrid $138,089–$194,950
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 4d ago
Caterpillar
Principal Rotordynamics Engineer
Caterpillar
⚡ Apply early San Diego, California Onsite $120,600–$180,900
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal Engineer Quality
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $103,600–$155,400
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal/ Sr. Principal Data Center Electronics Engineer
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $114,000–$171,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5d ago
Elevate Semiconductor
Principal Analog Design Engineer
Elevate Semiconductor
⚡ Apply early San Diego, California, United... Onsite $175,000–$240,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal/Senior Principal Systems Test Engineer
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $103,600–$155,400
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal Engineer/Sr Principal Engineer Embedded Software - Tactical Data Link
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $114,000–$171,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 5d ago
Invenergy
Principal Engineer, SCADA Engineering (BESS)
Invenergy
⚡ Apply early Chicago, IL Onsite $155,000–$180,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal Engineer Systems / Sr Principal Systems Engineer
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $93,300–$147,600
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal Systems Engineer - Global Hawk LTC Integration
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $114,000–$171,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6d ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal Engineer Process
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $103,600–$155,400
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6d ago
Northrop Grumman
Sr. Principal Systems Engineer - Co-CLS SW Sustainment Integration Lead
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $142,200–$213,400
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 6d ago
Northrop Grumman
Engineer / Principal Engineer - Navigation
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $91,800–$137,600
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 1w ago
Northrop Grumman
Principal / Senior Principal Engineer - Navigation
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 1w ago
Northrop Grumman
Systems Engineer - Integrator (Principal or Senior Principal Level)
Northrop Grumman
⚡ Apply early United States-California-San D... Onsite $114,000–$171,000
● New 👁 Seen ✓ Applied 1w ago

Related searches

Related roles

Principal Engineer jobs by location

More

Frequently asked questions

How many Principal Engineer jobs in San Diego are open right now?
170 Principal Engineer jobs in San Diego are open across 22 companies, as of September 8, 2026.
What do Principal Engineer jobs in San Diego pay?
Across the 160 Principal Engineer jobs in San Diego that disclose pay, the median is $150,750 a year, and the middle half of offers falls between $142,500 and $177,800.
Which companies are hiring Principal Engineer jobs in San Diego?
STR, Northrop Grumman, Caterpillar, Avantus and Elevate Semiconductor are among the 22 companies currently hiring Principal Engineer jobs in San Diego.
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 September 8, 2026 at 05:17 UTC.

Catch your next role the second it’s posted.

Create a free account and we’ll watch the boards for you — the instant a job matches your search, it lands in your inbox or Telegram. No digging, no refreshing.

Create free account

Free forever · takes 30 seconds · already have one?

Get an edge on your job hunt.

Join our Telegram channel for the stuff that helps you land the role — salary benchmarks, the weekly market pulse, and new-feature drops. No spam, just signal.

Join the channel — it's free