Are you the type of person who likes to analyze a problem and find a solution? That's just what you'll be doing if you become a principal software engineer. In this role, you will evaluate the end-user's needs and then develop the perfect software solution. More specifically, you'll look at a problem and the ultimate business goals. Based on these goals, you'll develop, document, and test software that meets those needs.

You'll also be expected to maintain and upgrade existing software or recommend new technologies that can help increase productivity. Since principal software engineers often oversee the technical aspects of the project, they are also asked to provide technical guidance to development teams.

To succeed in this field, you'll need to have basic programming knowledge, analytical skills, logical thinking, and specific knowledge of mathematics. Proven experience in software development methodologies along with high-level programming languages, like Java, is typically required as well.

To get into this field, principal software engineers most commonly study computer science, electrical engineering, or computer engineering. Must hold a bachelor's or master's degree

What Does a Principal Software Engineer Do

There are certain skills that many principal software engineers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and creativity.

Learn more about what a Principal Software Engineer does

How To Become a Principal Software Engineer

If you're interested in becoming a principal software engineer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 68.9% of principal software engineers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 24.4% of principal software engineers have master's degrees. Even though most principal software engineers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer Career Paths

Average Salary for a Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineers in America make an average salary of $134,230 per year or $65 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $182,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $98,000 per year.
Average Principal Software Engineer Salary
$134,230 Yearly
$64.53 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Principal Software Engineer

The role of a principal software engineer includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general principal software engineer responsibilities:

  • Participating in the full software lifecycle development (requirements analysis, design, implementation
  • Design, write and deliver software to improve the availability, scalability, latency,
  • Building out a data science framework that allows clinicians, healthcare administrators, researchers,

There are several types of principal software engineer, including:

Software Engineer

Role:

Software Engineers get to apply lots of different areas of study into their everyday work. Whether it's science, engineering, mathematics, computer science, or even design, these engineers are able to use lots of different methods and techniques in their line of work.

Essentially, software engineers design, develop and test software applications for computers. They usually work in offices or labs during their average 40-hour workweek. Even though they use a wide range of study, typically software engineers only require a Bachelor's degree, although a Master's degree is appealing to most employers.

  • Average Salary: $100,260
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Software Test Engineer

Role:

Software test engineers are professionals who ensure that software is doing what it is designed to do consistently. From their title, one major duty of a software test engineer is to test out the software. They carry out a variety of both automated and manual tests to ensure the software is consistently producing the desired results. After tests have been carried out, you have to come up with reports about the outcome of the test, which will aid decision-making. You are also to collaborate with developers and other colleagues. Sometimes, you could be called to monitor the work of other testers.

Generally, software test engineers hold a bachelor's degree in software engineering or computer science. Having a master's degree gives you an edge and makes you eligible for leadership positions. Software test engineers are not only expected to be shrewd, but you have to be a great communicator. Paying attention to detail, the ability to handle stress well, and multitasking are some other skills you must possess. The median salary per year is $83,070.

  • Average Salary: $85,338
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Lead Engineer

Role:

A lead engineer is a professional who supervisors a team of engineers working on maintaining and streamlining corporate projects. As a lead engineer, your duties vary depending on the work industry of employment. Basically, your responsibility as a lead engineer is to ensure that the operations and performance of the workforce are progressive. Also, you are to ensure the smooth running of everything.

In addition, as a lead engineer, you are responsible for addressing concerns and issues monitoring budgets. Furthermore, coordinating with architects and clients, training workers, and assessing risks is also a part of your duties. As a lead engineer, it is important that you conduct inspections regularly. This is to ascertain the quality of work being done and to maintain a safe space for every worker.

Mostly, lead engineers study computer science, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering. To qualify for this role, you must possess at least a bachelor's degree in any of these relevant fields. Lead engineers earn at least an average salary of $70,536 per year.

  • Average Salary: $84,927
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Principal Software Engineer Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active principal software engineer jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where principal software engineers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Principal Software Engineer Jobs By State

Principal Software Engineer Education

Principal Software Engineer Majors

Principal Software Engineer Degrees

Bachelors

68.9 %

Masters

24.4 %

Associate

2.8 %

Top Colleges for Principal Software Engineers

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

4. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

5. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

7. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,353

Enrollment

24,841

8. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

9. Minnesota State University - Mankato

Mankato, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,184

Enrollment

11,675

10. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

Top Skills For a Principal Software Engineer

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.4% of principal software engineers listed java on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Principal Software Engineer Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Principal Software Engineer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Principal Software Engineer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Principal Software Engineer diversity

Principal Software Engineer Gender Distribution

Male
Male
88%
Female
Female
13%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among principal software engineers, 12.5% of them are women, while 87.5% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among principal software engineers is White, which makes up 52.5% of all principal software engineers.

  • The most common foreign language among principal software engineers is Spanish at 19.6%.

Online Courses For Principal Software Engineer That You May Like

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Best States For a Principal Software Engineer

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a principal software engineer. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, and California. Principal software engineers make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $191,424. Whereas in Alaska and Washington, they would average $182,325 and $173,680, respectively. While principal software engineers would only make an average of $163,134 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Washington

Total Principal Software Engineer Jobs: 7,149
Highest 10% Earn:
$238,000
Location Quotient:
2.3

2. Oregon

Total Principal Software Engineer Jobs: 2,958
Highest 10% Earn:
$220,000
Location Quotient:
1.68

3. California

Total Principal Software Engineer Jobs: 19,860
Highest 10% Earn:
$224,000
Location Quotient:
1.6
Full List Of Best States For Principal Software Engineers

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Top Principal Software Engineer Employers

We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ principal software engineers and discovered their number of principal software engineer opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Fidelity Technologies was the best, especially with an average salary of $125,126. EMC follows up with an average salary of $135,808, and then comes Oracle with an average of $98,856. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a principal software engineer. The employers include NextEra Energy, Microsoft, and Salesforce

Most Common Employers For Principal Software Engineer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Walmart$194,894$93.70233
2Microsoft$186,106$89.47495
3Palo Alto Networks$169,485$81.48124
4Yahoo$158,220$76.07139
5Broadcom$153,705$73.90165
6Cadence Design Systems$152,390$73.26245
7Salesforce$148,174$71.24180
8Nisum$145,167$69.79169
9Splunk$142,691$68.60158
10T-Mobile$141,353$67.96104

Principal Software Engineer Videos

Becoming a Principal Software Engineer FAQs

Do Principal Engineers Write Code?

No, principal engineers do not write code typically. The software programming that they develop is given to programmers who write code.

It is the responsibility of the principal engineer to assess company needs and design software to address those needs. These individuals will oversee teams of programmers and instruct them during the code writing process.

How Long Does It Take To Become A Principal Software Engineer?

It takes approximately six to eight years after graduation from college to become a principal software engineer. After earning the appropriate degree, candidates for this position must amass several years of relevant work experience.

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