Microsoft principal software engineer salary

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Average Microsoft principal software engineer salary

$186,106yearly

$64.53 hourly rate

Entry-level Microsoft principal software engineer salary

$143,000 yearly

Updated April 5, 2024

How much does Microsoft pay principal software engineers?

The average salary for Microsoft principal software engineers is $186,106 per year. Microsoft principal software engineer salaries range between $143,000 to $241,000 per year. Microsoft principal software engineers earn 39% more than the national average salary for principal software engineers of $134,230.

Location impacts how much a principal software engineer at Microsoft can expect to make. Principal software engineers at Microsoft make the most in Redmond, WA, Mountain View, CA, and Tempe, AZ.

How much does Microsoft pay principal software engineers by location?

Microsoft pays principal software engineers the most in Redmond, WA, Mountain View, CA, and Tempe, AZ. Additionally, cities like New York and Cambridge also report highly competitive salaries for principal software engineers at Microsoft.

Principal software engineer Microsoft salary by location

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Redmond, WA	$228,249	$109.74
2	Mountain View, CA	$224,001	$107.69
3	Tempe, AZ	$177,528	$85.35
4	New York, NY	$165,529	$79.58
5	Cambridge, MA	$158,199	$76.06
6	Iselin, NJ	$153,191	$73.65
7	Washington, DC	$152,511	$73.32
8	Irving, TX	$151,715	$72.94
9	Reston, VA	$151,115	$72.65
10	Fargo, ND	$149,914	$72.07

Highest-paid Microsoft principal software engineers by job level

Rank	Job title	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Director Of Software Development	$221,039	$106	-
2	Software Director	$210,777	$101	-
3	Senior Software Engineer Manager	$201,175	$97	2
4	Chief Software Architect	$200,863	$97	-
5	Software Engineering Manager	$194,318	$93	8
6	Senior Software Architect	$182,243	$88	3
7	Software Leader	$180,231	$87	-
8	Software Development Manager	$179,851	$86	-
9	Lead Software Architect	$175,203	$84	-
10	Vice President, Software Development	$175,179	$84	-

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Recent salaries for principal software engineers at microsoft

Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Principal Software Engineer	Redmond, WA	06/28/2025	$188,000
Senior/Principal Software Engineer-CTJ-Poly	Reston, VA	06/27/2025	$180,400
Senior/Principal Software Engineer-CTJ-Poly	Elkridge, MD	06/27/2025	$180,400
Principal DPU Software Engineer-Secure Enclave	Raleigh, NC	06/26/2025	$180,400
Principal DPU Software Engineer-Secure Enclave	Hillsboro, OR	06/26/2025	$180,400

Principal software engineer salary at Microsoft competitors

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Meta	$217,864	$105	3436
2	Google	$211,543	$102	856
3	NVIDIA	$188,946	$91	359
4	Box	$185,688	$89	2
5	LinkedIn	$183,615	$88	105
6	Sophos	$180,906	$87	-
7	Adobe	$178,754	$86	187
8	VMware	$177,780	$85	1
9	Cisco	$165,936	$80	464
10	Amd	$155,710	$75	84
11	Intel	$151,697	$73	32
12	Salesforce	$148,174	$71	205
13	Red Hat	$137,609	$66	90
14	Dell	$133,758	$64	19
15	HP	$123,392	$59	10
16	IBM	$105,986	$51	497
17	Northrop Grumman	$103,669	$50	886
18	Lockheed Martin	$100,865	$48	598
19	Cognizant	$99,337	$48	450
20	Oracle	$98,856	$48	18486

Show more principal software engineer salaries at Microsoft competitors.