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Principal hardware engineer salary
Average principal hardware engineer salary
$131,734
Understanding Principal Hardware Engineer Salaries
As of October 2025, the average salary for a Principal Hardware Engineer in the United States is approximately $131,734 per year, translating to about $63 per hour. This role necessitates a high level of expertise in hardware design, often requiring advanced degrees and years of experience.
Salary can fluctuate significantly based on factors such as geographic location and industry. For instance, engineers in tech-centric regions like Silicon Valley may earn considerably more due to demand.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level positions typically start lower, but experienced professionals can see salaries rise substantially. For example, those with over ten years in the field may earn upwards of $150,000.
Top Paying States
States such as California, Texas, and New York often feature the highest salaries for Principal Hardware Engineers. This trend reflects the concentration of tech companies and innovative industries in these areas.
In conclusion, pursuing a career as a Principal Hardware Engineer not only offers competitive salaries but also presents opportunities for growth and advancement in a rapidly evolving field.
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Where can a Principal Hardware Engineer earn more?
Principal hardware engineer salaries by experience level
Principal hardware engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average principal hardware engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for principal hardware engineers are Washington, California, and Maine. The lowest average principal hardware engineer salary states are Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ohio.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for principal hardware engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $187,411 | $90.10 |
| 2 | California | $156,649 | $75.31 |
| 3 | Arizona | $129,193 | $62.11 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $128,875 | $61.96 |
| 5 | Vermont | $125,540 | $60.36 |
| 6 | Texas | $128,768 | $61.91 |
| 7 | New Mexico | $131,453 | $63.20 |
| 8 | Virginia | $123,114 | $59.19 |
| 9 | Maine | $136,770 | $65.75 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $126,274 | $60.71 |
| 11 | Idaho | $121,333 | $58.33 |
| 12 | Kansas | $127,267 | $61.19 |
| 13 | Arkansas | $119,772 | $57.58 |
| 14 | North Dakota | $125,286 | $60.23 |
| 15 | Alaska | $126,117 | $60.63 |
| 16 | Montana | $117,401 | $56.44 |
| 17 | West Virginia | $118,786 | $57.11 |
| 18 | Alabama | $115,786 | $55.67 |
| 19 | Maryland | $116,656 | $56.08 |
| 20 | New Jersey | $115,965 | $55.75 |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $108,426 | $52.13 |
| 22 | Illinois | $114,373 | $54.99 |
| 23 | Utah | $114,291 | $54.95 |
| 24 | Oregon | $110,749 | $53.24 |
| 25 | Colorado | $112,221 | $53.95 |
| 26 | Hawaii | $127,035 | $61.07 |
| 27 | Louisiana | $114,368 | $54.98 |
| 28 | Wyoming | $105,632 | $50.78 |
| 29 | New York | $111,265 | $53.49 |
| 30 | Georgia | $110,134 | $52.95 |
| 31 | Delaware | $108,770 | $52.29 |
| 32 | South Dakota | $109,951 | $52.86 |
| 33 | South Carolina | $109,234 | $52.52 |
| 34 | Pennsylvania | $105,977 | $50.95 |
| 35 | New Hampshire | $105,389 | $50.67 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | $110,967 | $53.35 |
| 37 | District of Columbia | $108,018 | $51.93 |
| 38 | North Carolina | $104,787 | $50.38 |
| 39 | Missouri | $106,413 | $51.16 |
| 40 | Florida | $103,125 | $49.58 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $101,703 | $48.90 |
| 42 | Iowa | $104,264 | $50.13 |
| 43 | Minnesota | $101,411 | $48.76 |
| 44 | Mississippi | $104,339 | $50.16 |
| 45 | Michigan | $96,812 | $46.54 |
| 46 | Wisconsin | $95,307 | $45.82 |
| 47 | Ohio | $94,546 | $45.45 |
| 48 | Nevada | $93,944 | $45.17 |
| 49 | Indiana | $95,669 | $45.99 |
| 50 | Tennessee | $87,405 | $42.02 |
| 51 | Kentucky | $77,599 | $37.31 |
Highest paying cities for principal hardware engineers
The highest-paying cities for principal hardware engineers are Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA, and San Antonio, TX.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | $191,952 | $92.28 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $164,778 | $79.22 |
| 3 | San Antonio, TX | $129,883 | $62.44 |
| 4 | Phoenix, AZ | $129,410 | $62.22 |
| 5 | Billerica, MA | $128,806 | $61.93 |
| 6 | Germantown, MD | $116,467 | $55.99 |
| 7 | Huntsville, AL | $114,471 | $55.03 |
| 8 | Colorado Springs, CO | $112,549 | $54.11 |
| 9 | New York, NY | $111,408 | $53.56 |
| 10 | Nashua, NH | $105,487 | $50.71 |
| 11 | Largo, FL | $104,023 | $50.01 |
| 12 | Madison Heights, MI | $96,865 | $46.57 |
| 13 | Indianapolis, IN | $95,545 | $45.94 |
| 14 | Madison, WI | $95,230 | $45.78 |
Principal hardware engineer salary details
A principal hardware engineer's salary ranges from $98,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $176,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a principal hardware engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $176,000 | $14,667 | $85 |
| 75th Percentile | $153,000 | $12,750 | $74 |
| Average | $131,734 | $10,978 | $63 |
| 25th Percentile | $113,000 | $9,417 | $54 |
| 10th Percentile | $98,000 | $8,167 | $47 |
Highest paying principal hardware engineer jobs
The highest paying types of principal hardware engineers are manager, hardware engineering, hardware manager, and senior staff engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design Verification Engineer | $117,277 | $9,773 | $56.38 | 65,429 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Staff Engineer | $107,530 | $8,961 | $51.70 | 277,011 |
| Verification Engineer | $104,158 | $8,680 | $50.08 | 38,261 |
| Computer Hardware Developer | $99,546 | $8,296 | $47.86 | 116,915 |
| Hardware Engineering Internship | $63,154 | $5,263 | $30.36 | 100,276 |
Top companies hiring principal hardware engineers now:
Which companies pay principal hardware engineers the most?
Principal hardware engineer salaries at Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average principal hardware engineer salary at companies like CyberCoders and Roblox are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft | $170,498 | $81.97 |
| 2 | Palo Alto Networks | $166,112 | $79.86 |
| 3 | CyberCoders | $151,799 | $72.98 |
| 4 | Roblox | $149,025 | $71.65 |
| 5 | Micron Technology | $148,818 | $71.55 |
| 6 | Ampere | $147,013 | $70.68 |
| 7 | Amazon | $146,885 | $70.62 |
| 8 | Stripe | $146,362 | $70.37 |
| 9 | Synaptics | $145,772 | $70.08 |
| 10 | Infinera | $141,711 | $68.13 |
| 11 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $141,506 | $68.03 |
| 12 | Honeywell | $141,024 | $67.80 |
| 13 | SambaNova Systems | $140,158 | $67.38 |
| 14 | Casa Systems | $138,073 | $66.38 |
| 15 | Cadence Design Systems | $137,982 | $66.34 |
| 16 | Broadcom | $137,324 | $66.02 |
| 17 | Thales | $136,703 | $65.72 |
| 18 | GL Noble Denton | $134,835 | $64.82 |
| 19 | TRW Automotive Holdings | $134,793 | $64.80 |
| 20 | Violin Memory | $134,148 | $64.49 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Principal hardware engineer salary trends
The average principal hardware engineer salary has risen by $23,083 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average principal hardware engineer earned $108,651 annually, but today, they earn $131,734 a year. That works out to a 4% change in pay for principal hardware engineers over the last decade.
Compare principal hardware engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average principal hardware engineer salary over time
Compare principal hardware engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Principal hardware engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $132,000 | $63.33 | +2.0% |
| 2024 | $129,000 | $62.09 | +2.2% |
| 2023 | $126,000 | $60.71 | -0.5% |
| 2022 | $127,000 | $60.98 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | $127,000 | $60.96 | +2.9% |
Recently added principal hardware engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Six Technologies | Principal Hardware Engineer (RF & Embedded Systems) | Arlington, VA | 06/27/2025 | $172,706 |
| Dell Inc. | Hardware Principal Engineer | Hopkinton, MA | 06/26/2025 | $162,000 |
| Medtronic Inc. | SR Principal Hardware Electrical Engineer | North Haven, CT | 06/26/2025 | $168,000 |
| Dell Inc. | Hardware Principal Engineer | Austin, TX | 06/25/2025 | $161,500 |
| Jpmorgan Chase & Co | SR Principal Architect-Hardware Engineering | Plano, TX | 06/18/2025 | $232,750 |
| Jpmorgan Chase & Co | SR Principal Architect-Hardware Engineering | Palo Alto, CA | 06/18/2025 | $232,750 |
| T-Mobile | Principal Engineer, Cloud Hardware | Frisco, TX | 06/13/2025 | $132,400 |
| Rgnext | Electrical Hardware Engineer Principal | Ione, CA | 06/13/2025 | $89,000 |
| Power Technology Associates, Inc. | Principal Power Electronics & Hardware Engineer | Smithtown, NY | 06/09/2025 | $150,000 |
| Torc Robotics | Principal Hardware Systems Engineer-Compute Foundation | Ann Arbor, MI | 06/09/2025 | $195,500 |
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