Median salary
$168,713
per year · annualized USD
Typical range
$131.4k – $218.5k
25th–75th percentile
Disclosing pay
47.3%
3,043 of 6,431 roles
Live roles
6,431
open right now
Salary trend
median · annualized USDSalary distribution
annualized USD · disclosed rolesHighest-paying jobs
Principal Software Engineer
Staff / Principal Data Engineer
Principal Research Engineer, Model Training & Post-Training
Principal Engineer, Agentic AI Systems
Principal Software Engineer, Productivity
Principal Software Engineer, ChatGPT Education and Learning
Distinguished Engineer - Servicing Tech
Principal Sales Systems Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Northrop Grumman
|
$129,500 | 1,003 |
Elastic
|
$121,221 | 64 |
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
|
$260,500 | 51 |
Roblox
|
$320,145 | 50 |
Blue Origin
|
$262,223 | 44 |
Leidos
|
$184,325 | 42 |
| AL Astera Labs | $209,000 | 37 |
Draper
|
$170,000 | 36 |
Principal Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $270,000 | 108 |
| Seattle | $261,800 | 101 |
| New York | $230,000 | 136 |
| Los Angeles | $225,000 | 53 |
| Boston | $223,750 | 76 |
| Atlanta | $222,438 | 26 |
| Austin | $214,475 | 44 |
| Chicago | $201,813 | 32 |
| Denver | $198,145 | 36 |
| Dublin | $162,261 | 5 |
See every Principal Engineer role
Browse the live listings, or save this search and get alerted the moment a new one posts.
How much do Principal Engineer roles pay?
The median salary for Principal Engineer roles is $168,713 per year. Most pay falls between $131,359 (25th percentile) and $218,500 (75th percentile), with the broader 10th–90th percentile band running from $111,800 to $275,000.
These figures are computed live from 6,431 active Principal Engineer roles on JobsRadar, of which 3,043 (47.3%) publish a salary range. Pay is normalized to annualized USD so roles can be compared on equal terms; the highest-paying roles listed above show their original posted currency. Numbers refresh every few hours as new roles are posted and older ones close.
Employers currently hiring well-paid Principal Engineer roles include Astera Institute, AppGate Cybersecurity, Inc., Inflection AI and OpenAI.
Salary transparency varies by employer and region, so the disclosing share above reflects only roles that publish pay — not every open position. Use it as a directional benchmark rather than an exact offer.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the average Principal Engineer salary?
- The median is $168,713 per year, with most pay between $131,359 and $218,500 (25th–75th percentile), based on 3,043 live listings that disclose pay on JobsRadar.
- What is the Principal Engineer salary range?
- Pay ranges from about $111,800 to $275,000 per year (10th–90th percentile) around a median of $168,713. Figures are annualized USD from live listings, refreshed every few hours.