How to hire a principal developer

How to hire a principal developer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step principal developer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a principal developer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new principal developer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a principal developer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a principal developer, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect principal developer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of principal developer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Principal Developer	Description	Hourly rate
   Principal Developer	Software developers are the creative minds behind computer programs. Some develop the applications that allow people to do specific tasks on a computer or another device... Show more	$46-79
   Developer/Consultant	A developer/consultant is responsible for developing system databases and applications, depending on the business' needs and clients' specifications. Developers/consultants design their services to manage optimal performance and maximize productivity for timely submission of projects, ensuring client satisfaction and loyalty... Show more	$34-64
   Developer Analyst	A developer analyst is a professional who is responsible for building application requirements and develops database solutions that allow operational efficiency and user-friendly tools. Developer analysts are required to develop a detailed definition of business solutions that can include database design, data flow, and transaction processing requirements... Show more	$30-54

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • Apis
   • Architecture
   • Cloud
   • JavaScript
   • Web Services
   • Cloud Computing
   • Software Development
   • Linux
   • Product Development
   • Debugging
   • Ruby
   • UI
   • IP

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage development of DFMEA for door systems to achieve optimize design base on risk factors.
   • Develop a CRM application to manage workflow of customer requests and to provide customer centric view for back office processors.
   • Conduct market research, develop partnerships, manage financial administration, and negotiate IP licensing.
   • Utilize cloud computing to run batches of simulation scripts in parallel.
   • Develop bi-directional JNI bridge for Java components to talk to KEPServerEX v6 configuration C/REST APIs.
   • Mentor developers on web development using html, css, javascript, and various backend technologies.

   More principal developer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your principal developer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A principal developer salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a principal developer in North Dakota may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level principal developer usually earns less than a senior-level principal developer. Additionally, a principal developer with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average principal developer salary

   $126,772yearly

   $60.95 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level principal developer salary

   $96,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average principal developer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$177,267	$85
   2	Washington	$177,011	$85
   3	New Jersey	$129,240	$62
   4	New York	$124,327	$60
   5	Arizona	$121,619	$58
   6	Texas	$119,323	$57
   7	Massachusetts	$118,691	$57
   8	Pennsylvania	$116,033	$56
   9	North Carolina	$114,531	$55
   10	Colorado	$113,410	$55
   11	Virginia	$112,860	$54
   12	Illinois	$110,313	$53
   13	Georgia	$109,114	$52
   14	Florida	$109,111	$52
   15	New Hampshire	$109,029	$52
   16	Louisiana	$107,562	$52
   17	Maryland	$106,790	$51
   18	District of Columbia	$101,982	$49
   19	Ohio	$100,608	$48
   20	South Carolina	$97,930	$47

   Average principal developer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Google	$206,012	$99.04	804
   2	Atlassian	$175,211	$84.24	36
   3	LinkedIn	$175,200	$84.23	94
   4	Microsoft	$174,684	$83.98	1,025
   5	ICE Mortgage Technology	$171,007	$82.21
   6	World Fuel Services	$165,915	$79.77
   7	Mayo Clinic	$165,596	$79.61	36
   8	Palo Alto Networks	$162,534	$78.14	203
   9	Citi	$162,027	$77.90	32
   10	Adobe	$160,823	$77.32	109
   11	ZS	$160,041	$76.94	3
   12	Social Tables	$158,578	$76.24
   13	Fortinet	$156,788	$75.38	44
   14	Hulu	$155,024	$74.53
   15	BNY Mellon	$154,780	$74.41	2
   16	Vista Equity Partners	$154,062	$74.07	4
   17	Amazon	$151,878	$73.02	1,058
   18	OCC	$151,122	$72.65	30
   19	Informatica	$150,800	$72.50
   20	Genentech	$150,660	$72.43	46

4. Writing a principal developer job description

   A good principal developer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a principal developer job description:

   Principal developer job description example

   At Constellation, a freshly independent and soon-to-be Fortune 200 company, we're providing the energy and services to transform our future. Combining next generation technologies and product offerings with the country's lowest carbon generating fleet, our company is purpose-built to meet the challenges of the climate crisis.
   
   Constellation has been the leader in clean energy production for more than a decade. Now we're speeding delivery of low-carbon or no-carbon power to help families, communities, governments, and businesses meet their sustainability and decarbonization goals. Constellation provides 10 percent of total clean power and 22 percent of clean baseload power in the United States and is the leading competitive retail supplier of energy products, services and clean energy solutions. The race is on to confront climate change, and no company is more ready to meet that challenge.
   
   We are committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion and believe in attracting, retaining and advancing employees who will best serve and represent our customers, partners and communities. We provide a workplace that ensures mutual respect, where each individual has the opportunity to grow and contribute at their greatest potential. Constellation will provide you the tools and resources you need to design, build and power a successful career.
   
   Join us as we accelerate the transition to a carbon-free future. Energize your career with Constellation.
   PRIMARY PURPOSE OF POSITION Responsible for the management and effectiveness of management development programs and practices for specific business unit clients.
   PRIMARY DUTIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES Manage the business talent review, succession planning and other talent management processes including planning, session design, facilitation and reporting to support effective talent selection, development and management for assigned business unit. Assist business unit leaders to develop and implement a clear plan for ensuring that there is ready talent to meet strategic business objectives. (40%) Manage the individual development planning process in assigned business unit (or assigned client groups). Build capability among leaders and employees to develop talent, particularly high potential talent, to support business strategy and goals. Provide coaching to leaders on the effective utilization of development tools such as job assignments, job rotations, assessments, development programs, training, and coaching and mentoring. (35%) Serve as the organizational development point of contact for business unit clients. Work with business unit leaders to develop and implement programs and initiatives that respond to business critical needs. Manage the results planning process for the Exelon Employee Survey, providing analysis and recommendations to business leaders to drive organizational improvements. (15%) Participate in and sometimes lead project teams to support the development and implementation of enterprise-wide management and leadership development processes and programs. (10%)
   JOB SCOPE Operates independently with minimal direction from manager. Interacts with client/site VPs and Key Managers. Qualifications MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor's degree in HR, Organizational Development, Business or related field. 8 to 10 years of experience in HR-related functions that include management/leadership development and talent review. Ability to operate independently with minimal direction from manager. Demonstrated orientation to understanding the business and business strategy, and the ability to apply talent management process and tools to support strategic business objectives. Demonstrated personal drive and sense of urgency pushing self and others for results; delivers on results despite obstacles. Proven coaching and influence skills. Excellent oral and written communication skills.
   PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
   
   Constellation is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and employees or applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to: age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law.
   
   VEVRAA Federal Contractor

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5. Post your job

   To find the right principal developer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with principal developers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit principal developers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your principal developer job on Zippia to find and attract quality principal developer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit principal developers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview principal developer candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new principal developer

   Once you've decided on a perfect principal developer candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new principal developer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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