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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$100K - $120K *

Transform your career by leading proposal strategies and managing a dynamic team. Drive compliance and quality in project proposals while collaborating with stakeholders to ensure timely and effective...

Vancouver, WARemote

3 days ago

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

$204K - $316K *

Join a dynamic leadership team to drive innovative platform strategies, manage cross-functional engineering teams, and shape the future of AI-enabled solutions through advanced cloud services and cutt...

New Jersey, USRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Transportation

$120K - $150K *

Elevate your career by designing and delivering innovative video solutions across diverse sectors. Collaborate with teams to create scalable architectures that enhance broadcast, streaming, and cloud...

United StatesRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$120K - $145K *

Join a team that's redefining transactions by owning the architecture, delivery, and roadmap of critical systems. Lead an engineering team while ensuring reliable software delivery, AI integration, an...

United StatesRemote

1 month ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$120K - $145K *

Optimize the verification of embedded software within aviation systems. Collaborate closely across teams to enhance safety and compliance, ensuring robust performance on flight hardware and complete i...

RemoteRemote

4 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Aerospace & Defense

$140K - $165K *

Engage as a Senior Technical Recruiter, driving strategic hiring for R&D roles. Take ownership from intake to offer, optimizing processes for talent acquisition while building strong relationships acr...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$120K - $145K *

Lead the charge in managing a skilled data engineering team, ensuring quality workflows and establishing data standards. Drive innovative solutions for efficient data ingestion and delivery across ent...

Harrisburg, PARemote

Reposted 2 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Healthcare

$125K - $150K *

Empower your career by leading and scaling a multidisciplinary engineering team in full-stack and data engineering. Drive impact through collaboration and technical excellence, ensuring quality and in...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Healthcare

$173K - $233K *

Empower innovation by leading the design and development of scalable, high-availability systems. Collaborate across teams to enhance our card loan platform, ensuring robust performance and driving imp...

United StatesRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Finance & Insurance

$116K - $122K *

Deliver reliable application packaging solutions for a large federal IT environment. Collaborate with stakeholders to gather requirements and ensure seamless deployment across thousands of endpoints...

United StatesRemote

Today

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

$135K - $216K *

Elevate data integration and engineering efforts to enhance the CMS Fraud Prevention System. Collaborate with teams to design and operate data pipelines, ensuring compliance and security while optimiz...

United StatesRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   11 - 15 years exp.  •   Aerospace & Defense

$160K - $200K *

Join a dynamic team to define and drive the product strategy of an enterprise SaaS platform. Lead product managers, collaborate with engineering, and ensure platform coherence while enhancing client e...

United StatesRemote

4 weeks ago

  •   11 - 15 years exp.  •   Legal & Accounting

$120K - $150K *

Elevate your career by owning product areas from discovery to launch. Collaborate with customers and cross-functional teams to transform insights into impactful solutions, driving measurable outcomes...

Vancouver, BCRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$100K - $120K *

Drive quality assurance as a Senior QA Automation Engineer, enhancing our distributed database platform through designing automated tests, validating features, and improving release processes while wo...

Georgia, USRemote

1 month ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$110K - $135K *

Unlock excellence in PCB design and manufacturing by leading DFM initiatives, developing complex multilayer layouts, and shaping best practices across engineering teams to enhance product performance...

United StatesRemote

6 days ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Manufacturing & Automotive

$90K - $150K *

Shape the future of our infrastructure by managing legacy systems while advancing cloud architecture and modernization. Optimize critical applications, ensure reliability, and contribute to innovative...

United StatesRemote

4 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Media

$96K - $148K *

Lead the charge in designing and building secure integrations for enterprise ITSM platforms. Analyze data flows, enhance system connections, and ensure compliance while delivering resilient solutions...

United StatesRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$147K - $232K *

Advance your expertise by designing and optimizing large-scale model serving systems. You'll tackle everything from distributed infrastructure to deep low-level optimizations, ensuring reliable high-c...

RemoteRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$150K - $180K *

Join a team that's redefining product security by leading cross-functional initiatives, embedding security into engineering workflows, and shaping strategies that enhance risk management across major...

CanadaRemote

Today

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$120K - $145K *

Drive the end-to-end execution of Payouts, ensuring reliable payments and enhancing our infrastructure while collaborating closely with cross-functional teams and partners to innovate future solutions...

RemoteRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$135K - $160K *

Join us to drive the evolution of agent connectivity on Temporal. You'll shape product strategy, enhance user experiences, and collaborate with engineering to build foundational capabilities that empo...

Seattle, WARemote

1 week ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$117K - $234K *

Elevate the developer experience by partnering with external teams to integrate seamlessly with the API ecosystem. Provide technical guidance, troubleshoot issues, and enhance tools while collaboratin...

Sunnyvale, CARemote

1 week ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Retail & Consumer Goods

$165K *

Champion innovative solutions as a Platform Site Reliability Engineer, enhancing infrastructure, optimizing deployment pipelines, and ensuring system reliability, scalability, and security in collabor...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$110K - $130K *

Transform client experiences by leading enterprise software implementations. Drive project success with effective stakeholder communication and collaboration across teams while ensuring alignment with...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$155K - $241K *

Join us to shape the future of platform engineering by driving strategic initiatives, influencing organizational architecture, and enhancing developer experience across a multi-cloud environment. Your...

United StatesRemote

Today

  •   11 - 15 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.