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 - $130K *

Innovate the future of cloud platforms by leading the design and operation of a secure, scalable infrastructure. Drive automation and enhance developer experience while collaborating with cross-functi...

Toronto, ONRemote

1 week ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Staffing

$190K - $275K *

Champion innovation in aerospace as a technical authority, leading system architecture and integration for advanced interceptor products while ensuring mission success and technical integrity across m...

Huntsville, ALRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   11 - 15 years exp.  •   Education, Government & Non-Profit

$218K - $245K *

Empower AI observability by delivering end-to-end solutions, collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance user experiences and insights into agent performance, costs, and errors, while navigat...

CanadaRemote

1 week ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$217K - $303K *

Innovate with us to lead a high-performing engineering team, shaping a scalable AI-powered knowledge graph platform that enhances data quality and drives impactful user experiences across multiple app...

United StatesRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Media

$130K - $160K *

Champion the migration to a modern Databricks lakehouse, designing robust data pipelines and ensuring data quality. Collaborate with teams to enhance analytics capabilities and set technical standards...

United StatesRemote

6 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$210K - $235K *

Champion innovation by leading a skilled engineering team, enhancing game coverage features across platforms. Collaborate with Product and Design to streamline engineering delivery and ensure user rel...

United StatesRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Consumer Technology

$128K - $188K *

Drive your career with impactful technical sales in the medical device sector. Lead customer engagements, identify new business opportunities, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance pr...

United StatesRemote

1 week ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Healthcare

$135K - $160K *

Unlock your leadership potential by guiding product engineers in creating exceptional developer experiences. This role blends technical expertise and product vision, enabling you to drive impactful in...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$147K - $210K *

Empower your career with a role focused on developing large-scale infrastructure and distributed systems. Collaborate with teams to enhance cloud technologies and deliver critical services for diverse...

Cambridge, MARemote

1 week ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$154K - $260K *

Transform edge AI solutions by leading a talented engineering team. Drive the strategy for embedded systems and machine learning, ensuring impactful deployment of intelligent safety features for real...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$245K - $344K *

Grow your impact by shaping the advertising experience at the intersection of design and engineering. Lead UX engineering strategy across teams, create high-quality prototypes, and drive product direc...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Media

$149K - $198K *

Advance data infrastructure by designing and implementing robust systems for data processing, discovery, and lineage, empowering engineering teams to leverage expansive data for machine learning and a...

United StatesRemote

4 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Transportation

$142K - $196K *

Unlock potential by enhancing system reliability and observability for resilient production environments. Collaborate across teams to develop automation and tooling that improves incident response, op...

United StatesRemote

1 month ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Finance & Insurance

$125K - $150K *

Lead the development and operation of next-gen GraphQL infrastructure, ensuring performance, security, and reliability while mentoring teams and collaborating cross-functionally to deliver outstanding...

RemoteRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$160K - $200K *

Innovate by driving the development and management of cutting-edge testing infrastructure, focusing on enhancing software capabilities while building and leading an engineering team to adapt and thriv...

Columbia, TNRemote

4 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$125K - $150K *

Shape the future of crisis intervention software by collaborating on innovative mobile and web applications. Join a passionate team to revolutionize child protection and social services while working...

RemoteRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$120K - $145K *

Grow your career with an innovative team designing and managing a Kubernetes control plane for seamless deployment and operations, ensuring production reliability, customer onboarding, and infrastruct...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$135K - $160K *

Advance your career by joining a dynamic team focused on delivering innovative enterprise solutions. Engage with a variety of technologies while supporting mission-critical systems. Drive customer suc...

RemoteRemote

Reposted 4 days ago

  •   11 - 15 years exp.  •   Manufacturing & Automotive

$94K - $161K *

Join a dynamic team to shape a cloud-native data platform, managing data sourcing and enhancing user experience for internal teams. Drive adoption, ensure data quality, and translate cross-functional...

Richardson, TXRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Real Estate & Construction

$100K - $120K *

Reimagine your career as a Solutions Engineer, collaborating with Sales to craft tailored product demonstrations addressing aviation sector challenges, while influencing product development through cu...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$145K - $190K *

Drive strategic product management within our payroll and HR ecosystem, leading cross-functional teams to deliver solutions that enhance customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance, and revenue growt...

Atlanta, GARemote

Reposted 1 month ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$183K - $230K *

Lead the charge in shaping our platform strategy, overseeing integrations, pricing, and customer experience. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance product offerings and drive growth in a...

United StatesRemote

Yesterday

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Consumer Technology

$73K - $102K *

Unlock potential by leading the development of LLM-powered applications and agentic systems. Collaborate across teams to design, implement, and maintain innovative software solutions, ensuring high qu...

United StatesRemote

1 week ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$130K - $160K *

Design robust distributed systems with zero-knowledge proofs. Contribute to building Rust-based rollup nodes and sequencers. Ensure security while enabling rapid development to scale smart contract ap...

New York, NYRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$155K - $175K *

Empower engineering teams by leading the evolution of cloud, security, and AI operations. Drive platform reliability and DevSecOps practices while mentoring others to foster a collaborative, innovativ...

United StatesRemote

1 week ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Business Services

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.