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Principal design engineer salary
Average principal design engineer salary
$134,300
Understanding Principal Design Engineer Salaries
The salary for a Principal Design Engineer typically averages around $134,300 annually. However, this figure is influenced by various factors, including geographical location, years of experience, and the specific industry of employment. For instance, engineers in technology or aerospace sectors may earn significantly more than those in traditional manufacturing roles.
When assessing salary variations by state, areas like California and New York often report higher average salaries due to the cost of living and demand for engineering talent. Additionally, as experience increases—from entry-level to senior roles—salaries can rise substantially. Entry-level positions may start around $85,000, while seasoned professionals can command salaries exceeding $150,000.
For those seeking higher-paying positions, exploring opportunities in leading firms or specialized sectors could enhance earning potential. Websites like Zippia offer detailed job listings, allowing candidates to apply directly for positions that fit their career goals and salary expectations.
Let Zippia find your next principal design engineer job
Let Zippia find your next principal design engineer job
Where can a Principal Design Engineer earn more?
Principal design engineer salaries by experience level
| Experience level | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level principal design engineer | $120,000 | $57.79 |
| Mid-level principal design engineer | $150,000 | $71.91 |
| Senior-level principal design engineer | $189,000 | $90.78 |
Principal design engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average principal design engineer salary by state
The average principal design engineer salary in California, Nevada, and Hawaii are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average principal design engineer salary states are New York, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for principal design engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $160,399 | $77.11 |
| 2 | District of Columbia | $158,937 | $76.41 |
| 3 | Texas | $143,335 | $68.91 |
| 4 | Nevada | $148,510 | $71.40 |
| 5 | Washington | $140,636 | $67.61 |
| 6 | Idaho | $136,401 | $65.58 |
| 7 | Virginia | $131,183 | $63.07 |
| 8 | Arizona | $126,571 | $60.85 |
| 9 | Alabama | $134,393 | $64.61 |
| 10 | New Mexico | $132,221 | $63.57 |
| 11 | Alaska | $136,333 | $65.54 |
| 12 | Oregon | $123,521 | $59.39 |
| 13 | Colorado | $125,039 | $60.11 |
| 14 | Rhode Island | $129,686 | $62.35 |
| 15 | New Hampshire | $118,960 | $57.19 |
| 16 | Hawaii | $147,092 | $70.72 |
| 17 | Oklahoma | $128,767 | $61.91 |
| 18 | Massachusetts | $123,220 | $59.24 |
| 19 | Maryland | $121,616 | $58.47 |
| 20 | Wyoming | $117,120 | $56.31 |
| 21 | Delaware | $119,435 | $57.42 |
| 22 | Michigan | $114,537 | $55.07 |
| 23 | Missouri | $122,759 | $59.02 |
| 24 | Georgia | $118,847 | $57.14 |
| 25 | New Jersey | $129,154 | $62.09 |
| 26 | North Carolina | $112,005 | $53.85 |
| 27 | Tennessee | $117,333 | $56.41 |
| 28 | Arkansas | $114,911 | $55.25 |
| 29 | Kansas | $113,635 | $54.63 |
| 30 | Maine | $116,046 | $55.79 |
| 31 | Florida | $112,898 | $54.28 |
| 32 | Mississippi | $114,477 | $55.04 |
| 33 | Louisiana | $115,769 | $55.66 |
| 34 | Connecticut | $110,133 | $52.95 |
| 35 | Minnesota | $104,773 | $50.37 |
| 36 | Pennsylvania | $104,256 | $50.12 |
| 37 | North Dakota | $107,286 | $51.58 |
| 38 | Illinois | $102,656 | $49.35 |
| 39 | Nebraska | $102,859 | $49.45 |
| 40 | Utah | $99,889 | $48.02 |
| 41 | South Carolina | $106,280 | $51.10 |
| 42 | Indiana | $103,042 | $49.54 |
| 43 | New York | $96,468 | $46.38 |
| 44 | Vermont | $101,326 | $48.71 |
| 45 | Kentucky | $102,963 | $49.50 |
| 46 | Ohio | $98,533 | $47.37 |
| 47 | Montana | $86,335 | $41.51 |
| 48 | Wisconsin | $91,413 | $43.95 |
| 49 | West Virginia | $89,607 | $43.08 |
| 50 | Iowa | $90,000 | $43.27 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $87,995 | $42.31 |
Highest paying cities for principal design engineers
The highest-paying cities for principal design engineers are Mountain View, CA, Austin, TX, and Bellevue, WA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mountain View, CA | $168,570 | $81.04 |
| 2 | Austin, TX | $143,967 | $69.21 |
| 3 | Bellevue, WA | $141,679 | $68.11 |
| 4 | Huntsville, AL | $132,922 | $63.90 |
| 5 | Phoenix, AZ | $126,898 | $61.01 |
| 6 | Colorado Springs, CO | $125,758 | $60.46 |
| 7 | Portland, OR | $123,170 | $59.22 |
| 8 | Andover, MA | $123,076 | $59.17 |
| 9 | Baltimore, MD | $121,695 | $58.51 |
| 10 | Manchester, NH | $118,988 | $57.21 |
| 11 | Atlanta, GA | $118,834 | $57.13 |
| 12 | Orlando, FL | $113,111 | $54.38 |
| 13 | Charlotte, NC | $112,117 | $53.90 |
| 14 | Greenville, SC | $106,138 | $51.03 |
| 15 | Philadelphia, PA | $104,541 | $50.26 |
| 16 | Chicago, IL | $102,648 | $49.35 |
| 17 | New York, NY | $96,593 | $46.44 |
| 18 | Waukesha, WI | $91,511 | $44.00 |
Principal design engineer salary details
A principal design engineer's salary ranges from $99,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $180,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a principal design engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $180,000 | $15,000 | $87 |
| 75th Percentile | $156,000 | $13,000 | $75 |
| Average | $134,300 | $11,192 | $65 |
| 25th Percentile | $114,000 | $9,500 | $55 |
| 10th Percentile | $99,000 | $8,250 | $48 |
Highest paying principal design engineer jobs
The highest paying types of principal design engineers are senior staff engineer, senior principal engineer, and principal engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Trainee | $60,235 | $5,020 | $28.96 | 79,966 |
| Customer Engineer | $101,212 | $8,434 | $48.66 | 44,709 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Radio Frequency Engineer | $88,301 | $7,358 | $42.45 | 35,158 |
| Staff Engineer | $107,530 | $8,961 | $51.70 | 277,011 |
| Cost Engineer | $87,901 | $7,325 | $42.26 | 65,278 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for principal design engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring principal design engineers now:
Which companies pay principal design engineers the most?
Principal design engineer salaries at Microsoft and NVIDIA are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average principal design engineer salary at companies like CyberCoders and SandForce are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft | $178,434 | $85.79 |
| 2 | NVIDIA | $167,569 | $80.56 |
| 3 | CyberCoders | $164,634 | $79.15 |
| 4 | SandForce | $156,811 | $75.39 |
| 5 | Ampere | $153,025 | $73.57 |
| 6 | Amazon | $152,275 | $73.21 |
| 7 | Micron Technology | $151,140 | $72.66 |
| 8 | Kore1 | $149,975 | $72.10 |
| 9 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $148,897 | $71.59 |
| 10 | OCZ Technology | $148,048 | $71.18 |
| 11 | Cypress HCM | $146,941 | $70.64 |
| 12 | Orange County Business Bank | $145,944 | $70.17 |
| 13 | Comtech Telecommunications | $145,354 | $69.88 |
| 14 | Broadcom | $145,007 | $69.71 |
| 15 | OTIS POLSKA | $144,954 | $69.69 |
| 16 | Euro Pro | $144,567 | $69.50 |
| 17 | Energous | $144,520 | $69.48 |
| 18 | ams | $144,520 | $69.48 |
| 19 | Midcontinent Independent System Operator | $144,520 | $69.48 |
| 20 | HODINKEE | $144,520 | $69.48 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Principal design engineer salary trends
The average principal design engineer salary has risen by $20,032 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average principal design engineer earned $114,268 annually, but today, they earn $134,300 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for principal design engineers over the last decade.
Compare principal design engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average principal design engineer salary over time
Compare principal design engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Principal design engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $134,000 | $64.57 | +1.8% |
| 2024 | $132,000 | $63.38 | +2.7% |
| 2023 | $128,000 | $61.66 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | $128,000 | $61.35 | +2.9% |
| 2021 | $124,000 | $59.57 | +0.9% |
Recently added principal design engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medtronic | Principal Fpga Design Engineer (Vhdl) | Newton, MA | 06/29/2025 | $134,400 |
| Actalent | Principal Design Assurance Engineer | Minneapolis, MN | 06/29/2025 | $104,350 |
| Northrop Grumman | SR Principal Design Engineer | San Diego, CA | 06/28/2025 | $124,900 |
| CAES | SR. Principal Mmic Design Engineer | Richardson, TX | 06/28/2025 | $149,893 |
| Baxter | Principal Engineer, Product Design Owner | Skaneateles, NY | 06/27/2025 | $108,000 |
| Northrop Grumman | Principal/SR Principal Design Engineer | Roy, UT | 06/27/2025 | $107,800 |
| Welch Allyn USA | Principal Engineer, Product Design Owner | Skaneateles, NY | 06/26/2025 | $108,000 |
| Celestica | Principal, Design Engineering-Signal Integrity | San Jose, CA | 06/24/2025 | $170,000 |
| Analog Devices, Inc. | Principal Engineer, Physical Design (Layout Engineering) | Durham, NC | 06/21/2025 | $148,500 |
| Analog Devices, Inc. | Principal Engineer, Physical Design (Layout Engineering) | Wilmington, MA | 06/21/2025 | $148,500 |
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