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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$132K - $211K *

Unlock potential by serving as a key technical leader, bridging engineering and enterprise architecture to eliminate adoption friction and enhance cloud-native infrastructure and AI platform deploymen...

RemoteRemote

Reposted 2 weeks ago

  •   15+ years exp.  •   Manufacturing & Automotive

$140K - $190K *

Empower your career by developing innovative solutions for a cloud-native platform, enhancing endpoint management for global clients. Collaborate with a dynamic team to drive impactful features and en...

United StatesRemote

Yesterday

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$135K - $190K *

Join a dynamic team to shape the future of cybersecurity solutions across the Americas. As a Senior Solution Engineer, you'll engage deeply with clients, deliver tailored demonstrations, and lead tech...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$162K - $178K *

Drive strategic product development to meet growth goals, prioritizing user impact and results while collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver innovative solutions that resonate with both B...

United StatesRemote

4 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Finance & Insurance

$110K - $130K *

Champion the future of energy by leading a team of power system engineers. Oversee client projects, drive business development, and enhance capabilities within the organization while ensuring high-qua...

Austin, TXRemote

4 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Energy & Utilities

$145K - $175K *

Transform your career by architecting secure, scalable Azure solutions that drive modern application delivery. Collaborate with diverse teams to develop automation and enhance cloud services while lev...

RemoteRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$130K - $155K *

Optimize and implement secure, scalable infrastructure solutions across Windows, Citrix, AWS, and Azure. Collaborate with teams to drive automation and design zero-trust architectures, enhancing infra...

New York, NYRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$130K - $155K *

Optimize and implement scalable, secure infrastructure solutions across Windows, Citrix, AWS, and Azure. Drive automation and collaborate with teams to design zero-trust architectures, enhancing infra...

United StatesRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$120K - $145K *

Unlock potential by leading architecture in sales and implementations. Collaborate with clients and teams to drive technical excellence, enhance projects, and innovate solutions across multiple platfo...

RemoteRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$80K - $135K *

Lead the implementation and integration of Murex solutions, contributing to project success by leveraging expertise in Murex technologies and capital markets, ensuring seamless data flow and optimizin...

CanadaRemote

Reposted 2 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$125K - $150K *

Advance your career by driving the development of innovative features and scalable technology. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance our core platform, ensuring impactful solutions that t...

San Francisco, CARemote

2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Healthcare

$125K - $150K *

Explore an impactful role as a Senior Full Stack Engineer, driving innovation at the intersection of technology and healthcare. Collaborate cross-functionally to build and enhance our core platform, s...

RemoteRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Healthcare

$125K - $150K *

Join a team that's redefining customer trust through innovative engineering. Lead squads to automate security assessments, driving strategic roadmaps while fostering a high-accountability culture and...

CanadaRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$204K - $306K *

Reimagine data foundations with us as you lead our analytics engineering team, guiding data modeling, governance, and AI initiatives. Influence cross-functional collaboration and empower business insi...

RemoteRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$164K - $229K *

Unlock potential by creating scalable, fault-tolerant data systems to support ML and analytics workflows, enabling efficient data processing for critical teams at a leading tech company. Collaborate a...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 2 days ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Media

$175K - $270K *

Oversee the strategy and development of data products, driving market execution and collaboration across teams to enhance audience targeting and measurement capabilities for agencies and brands...

Columbia, MDRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Business Services

$110K - $130K *

Partner with us to transform customer experience operations into a seamless, data-driven journey. Your leadership will unify departments for consistency, enabling effective strategies that enhance cus...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 1 week ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Legal & Accounting

$110K - $130K *

Join a dynamic team as a Full Stack Software Engineer, where you'll design, build, and enhance tools for public agencies. Collaborate across the tech stack to solve real-world problems and drive impac...

Vancouver, BCRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$185K - $230K *

Lead the charge in optimizing cloud and on-prem environments, ensuring seamless software deployments and enhancements. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive innovative solutions and support...

Austin, TXRemote

Reposted 4 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$100K - $220K *

Empower your career by engineering scalable Azure cloud infrastructure and services. Collaborate cross-functionally in agile teams to deliver innovative solutions while ensuring best practices in secu...

RemoteRemote

Reposted today

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Finance & Insurance

$100K - $120K *

Unlock potential by leveraging your expertise in data analysis and psychometrics to drive innovative assessment solutions. Collaborate with a dynamic team to enhance educational outcomes through advan...

United StatesRemote

2 weeks ago

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

$105K - $160K *

Unlock potential by driving growth in industrial software and PLC solutions. Shape market strategies, build customer relationships, and collaborate with sales teams to enhance market penetration and a...

Round Rock, TXRemote

1 week ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Manufacturing & Automotive

$110K - $130K *

Lead complex, cross-functional marketing initiatives from planning to execution, driving accountability and collaboration across teams while enhancing project management processes and methodologies fo...

United StatesRemote

1 week ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$135K - $160K *

Elevate customer experiences by driving the integrations roadmap, enhancing capabilities, and collaborating across teams to deliver impactful solutions that meet compliance needs and improve product o...

United StatesRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$95K - $114K *

Join a dynamic team to design and optimize data systems for AI/ML applications, enhancing Navy IT operations. Collaborate with engineers to ensure reliable data processing and support mission-critical...

United StatesRemote

1 week 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.