Principal Software Engineer Jobs

Explore Principal Software Engineer jobs for experienced technologists ready to shape architecture, guide engineering teams, and solve complex technical challenges. Ladders features vetted professional opportunities with salaries of $100,000 or more, helping you find senior roles that match your expertise and career goals.

What Does a Principal Software Engineer Do?

Principal Software Engineers provide technical leadership across products, platforms, or engineering organizations. They design scalable systems, establish engineering standards, evaluate architectural tradeoffs, and partner with product, security, and operations teams. Depending on the organization, the role may involve mentoring engineers and influencing roadmaps without direct people-management responsibilities.

Skills and Qualifications

Employers commonly seek deep software development experience, strong system design and architecture skills, and expertise in one or more programming languages or technology domains. Successful candidates communicate clearly, make sound decisions amid ambiguity, and build alignment across teams. Experience with cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, reliability, security, or data platforms may be valuable depending on the role.

Career Opportunities and Compensation

Principal-level positions are available across industries, including technology, finance, healthcare, retail, and business services. Compensation varies by employer, location, scope, and specialization. Browse Ladders for vetted opportunities paying $100,000 or more, and review each listing for its stated salary range, responsibilities, and requirements.

Find Your Next Principal Software Engineer Role

Use Ladders to discover senior engineering opportunities aligned with your experience. Compare roles by industry, location, and technical focus, then tailor your application to highlight measurable impact, architectural leadership, and the systems you have helped deliver.

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$120K - $145K *

Elevate the performance and reliability of our AI-native platform by managing infrastructure, CI/CD processes, and user experience. Shape tooling to boost developer efficiency and ensure a stable, fas...

RemoteRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Finance & Insurance

$120K - $145K *

Innovate with us as a Senior Software Engineer, driving core feature development and automation across the stack. Collaborate with diverse teams to enhance scalability and performance in a dynamic, mi...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 6 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Healthcare

$135K - $160K *

Drive your career with a Senior Site Reliability Engineer role focused on building secure AWS GovCloud foundations for FedRAMP High and IL5, ensuring compliance and operational excellence while mentor...

CanadaRemote

Yesterday

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$126K - $157K *

Drive your career forward by leading complex software projects, collaborating with diverse teams, and leveraging cutting-edge technologies to deliver high-quality solutions that meet client needs and...

United StatesRemote

Today

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$148K - $201K *

Empower the development of our open source software solutions while collaborating with engineers and community contributors. Leverage your cloud native expertise to enhance mission outcomes through in...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$120K - $145K *

Innovate your career by leading SaaS modernization projects, enhancing delivery efficiency through AI and automation. Drive customer success by transforming legacy systems into scalable, sustainable s...

United StatesRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$115K - $130K *

Explore opportunities as a Senior Software Engineer driving our Virtual Care Platform, ensuring operational excellence and enhancing patient experiences through effective troubleshooting, automation...

CanadaRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Healthcare

$153K - $166K *

Join a team that's shaping the future of AI governance in software development. As a Senior Engineer, you'll design policies and tools that ensure safe, effective use of AI coding agents, empowering d...

United StatesRemote

6 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Education, Government & Non-Profit

$100K - $300K *

Transform the infrastructure for AI applications, enabling seamless app development, hosting, and integration. Drive innovation in a dynamic environment, impacting thousands of users with scalable, re...

San Francisco, CARemote

2 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$240K - $330K *

Join a team that's shaping the future of machine learning by leading a high-performing group dedicated to optimizing data pipelines and enhancing perception modeling. Drive innovation and collaboratio...

United StatesRemote

3 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Transportation

$225K - $260K *

Lead the charge in enhancing our platform's foundation. Tackle complex systems, improve developer tooling, and drive AI tool adoption to elevate engineering practices and platform performance across a...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$169K - $185K *

Champion the design and delivery of integrations and APIs, collaborating with cross-functional teams to create secure, scalable, and user-friendly developer experiences that drive business impact and...

United StatesRemote

Today

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Consumer Technology

$140K - $150K *

Join a team that's shaping the future of cloud-based applications. Collaborate across diverse technology stacks to design, build, and enhance software solutions while embracing AI-assisted development...

United StatesRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$183K - $206K *

Transform AI observability by developing end-to-end capabilities, architecting data models, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance user workflows and insights into agent performance...

United StatesRemote

1 week ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$160K - $200K *

Drive innovation by designing and developing scalable backend services, collaborating closely with engineering teams to enhance platform performance and reliability while mentoring junior developers a...

United StatesRemote

1 week ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Transportation

$135K - $160K *

Oversee quality engineering initiatives by enhancing validation practices, establishing scalable strategies, and improving release evidence in collaboration with cross-functional teams to ensure robus...

San Francisco, CARemote

2 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$248K - $391K *

Shape the future of cloud-hosted compute environments by leading the architecture and development of AI agent platforms. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver high-performance solutions a...

California, USRemote

3 days ago

  •   11 - 15 years exp.  •   Manufacturing & Automotive

$250K - $280K *

Empower the development of AI observability capabilities, architecting data models and infrastructure while collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance user workflows and insights into AI sys...

CanadaRemote

6 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$240K - $379K *

Shape the future of retail technology by architecting and developing a cutting-edge Retail and CPG platform using AI solutions, collaborating with top engineering teams to drive innovation and efficie...

Santa Clara, CARemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   11 - 15 years exp.  •   Manufacturing & Automotive

$165K - $185K *

Shape the future of advertising technology by leading the design and strategy for scalable, reliable systems that enhance live sports experiences. Collaborate across teams to drive innovation and ment...

United StatesRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Consumer Technology

$120K - $180K *

Transform user experiences by developing innovative web applications with cutting-edge technologies. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to create exceptional battery analytics software for leadin...

United StatesRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Energy & Utilities

$150K - $160K *

Design innovative solutions for a secure online proctored testing platform, guiding engineering teams in modernizing architecture and ensuring scalable, reliable delivery while enhancing candidate and...

United StatesRemote

1 week ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Education, Government & Non-Profit

$200K - $300K *

Contribute to the technical direction and architectural excellence by leading large-scale initiatives, mentoring engineers, and collaborating cross-functionally to deliver high-impact software solutio...

Florida, USRemote

Reposted 1 week ago

  •   11 - 15 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$130K - $160K *

Empower your career by leading cross-functional initiatives that define and execute product strategies. Cultivate senior talent while driving clarity in vision and achieving impactful results across d...

United StatesRemote

4 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$144K - $189K *

Join a team that's driving complex projects from design to launch, tackling architecture challenges and mentoring engineers. Collaborate across teams to implement scalable solutions while ensuring cod...

CanadaRemote

3 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  • What does a Principal Software Engineer do?question toggle

    A Principal Software Engineer leads technical direction across significant systems or teams, making architecture decisions, solving complex engineering problems, and helping establish standards. The role is often an individual-contributor position, though responsibilities differ by company.

  • What qualifications are needed for Principal Software Engineer jobs?question toggle

    Employers typically look for extensive software engineering experience, advanced system design skills, proficiency in relevant technologies, and a record of delivering reliable, scalable systems. Communication, mentoring, and cross-functional influence are also commonly important.

  • How much do Principal Software Engineers earn?question toggle

    Pay varies based on location, industry, employer, specialization, and role scope. Ladders focuses on vetted professional jobs paying $100,000 or more; check individual listings for compensation details.

  • Are Principal Software Engineer roles management positions?question toggle

    Not necessarily. Many Principal Software Engineers are senior individual contributors who influence technical strategy and mentor colleagues without managing direct reports. Some companies combine technical leadership with management duties.

  • Where can I find Principal Software Engineer jobs paying $100,000 or more?question toggle

    Browse Principal Software Engineer listings on Ladders to explore vetted opportunities with salaries of $100,000 or more and compare roles by their requirements, responsibilities, and location.