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What is a principal electrical engineer and how to become one
The principal electrical engineer is the one calling the shots when it comes to managing electrical systems and related projects. They are responsible for overseeing and leading all aspects of the development process or electrical projects from start to finish, which also means that they are the ones making the most critical decisions.
Upon a closer look, other duties of a principal electrical engineer include managing project budgets, developing test structures, and creating strategies to optimize processes and operations. They are also expected to handle issues and emergencies, especially ones that can have a significant impact on the entire project.
Of course, anyone interested in this career path must have a degree in electrical engineering to qualify. More than that, they must have enough experience and prove that they have the leadership skills that it takes to become a successful principal electrical engineer.
The average salary for this job is around $115,000 per year, which is just as expected since it is a mission-critical position that can make or break the success of a project or company.
What general advice would you give to a principal electrical engineer?
Dr. Angela Rasmussen
Professor (Lecturer) Director of Mentoring and Advising Director of Electrical Engineering Senior Projects, University of Utah
Avg. Salary $121,822
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 3%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%
Asian 15.58%
Black or African American 4.79%
Hispanic or Latino 11.07%
Unknown 4.70%
White 63.67%
Genderfemale 6.56%
male 93.44%
Age - 44American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 44Stress level is manageable
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Principal electrical engineer career paths
Key steps to become a principal electrical engineer
Explore principal electrical engineer education requirements
Start to develop specific principal electrical engineer skills
Skills Percentages Electrical Engineering 18.62% RF 8.20% Analog 6.29% FPGA 4.38% Design Reviews 3.81% Complete relevant principal electrical engineer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New principal electrical engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a principal electrical engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real principal electrical engineer resumes.Research principal electrical engineer duties and responsibilities
- Identify, develop and implement action items to manage & improve software releases and develop guidelines in JavaScript coding.
- Own the design and integration of a number of internal VHDL library base IP into the FPGA chip.
- Design high speed pulse processing analog front end and FPGA digital processing electronics for use in a space flight application.
- Modify existing converter layout replacing analog controller with DSP.
Get principal electrical engineer experience
Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a principal electrical engineer. The most common roles before becoming a principal electrical engineer include senior electrical engineer, electrical engineer team lead and senior engineer.Prepare your principal electrical engineer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your principal electrical engineer resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a principal electrical engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable principal electrical engineer resume templates
Build a professional principal electrical engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your principal electrical engineer resume.
Apply for principal electrical engineer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a principal electrical engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first principal electrical engineer job
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Average principal electrical engineer salary
The average principal electrical engineer salary in the United States is $121,822 per year or $59 per hour. Principal electrical engineer salaries range between $93,000 and $159,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do principal electrical engineers rate their job?
Principal electrical engineer reviews
continuous learning
Finding NEW devices to open up the range of features for nrw development! New technologies, new materials, allowing new concepts!
Right now, being stuck handling fine details of determining equivalents for parts which are currently unavailable (or 1year+ lead times for delivery). I can DO it, but regret the loss of higher-priority time/tasks...
very little
Updated January 8, 2025
