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What is a principle engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Quoted experts
Andrea Welker Ph.D.,
Christian Hansen Ph.D.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a principle engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $60.65 an hour? That's $126,143 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a principle engineer?

Andrea Welker Ph.D.Andrea Welker Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University

Be open to new experiences. Find a good mentor. Become a valued employee. Always remember that you are designing something for someone.
ScorePrinciple EngineerUS Average
Salary
8.3

Avg. Salary $126,143

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.4
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 17.03%

Black or African American 3.08%

Hispanic or Latino 7.89%

Unknown 4.51%

White 67.38%

Gender

female 5.48%

male 94.52%

Age - 39
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39
Stress level
7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Principle engineer career paths

Key steps to become a principle engineer

  1. Explore principle engineer education requirements

    Most common principle engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    67.4 %

    Master's

    17.4 %

    Associate

    8.2 %
  2. Start to develop specific principle engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Architecture9.92%
    Java8.70%
    R4.84%
    API4.24%
    System Design4.14%
  3. Complete relevant principle engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New principle 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 principle engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real principle engineer resumes.
  4. Research principle engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Lead cross-functional development initiatives compliant with FDA 21 CFR 820.
    • Code the Linux socket base GigE protocol to manage and transfer streams of video data.
    • Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.
    • Set up and configure PHP Java bridge to enable invoking Java services from a PHP script.
  5. Get principle engineer experience

    Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a principle engineer. The most common roles before becoming a principle engineer include senior engineer, software engineer team lead and senior software engineer.
  6. Prepare your principle engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your principle 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 principle 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 principle engineer resume templates

    Build a professional principle 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 principle engineer resume.
    Principle Engineer Resume
    Principle Engineer Resume
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    Principle Engineer Resume
    Principle Engineer Resume
  7. Apply for principle engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a principle engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first principle engineer job

Zippi

Are you a principle engineer?

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Average principle engineer salary

The average principle engineer salary in the United States is $126,143 per year or $61 per hour. Principle engineer salaries range between $92,000 and $171,000 per year.

Average principle engineer salary
$126,143 Yearly
$60.65 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do principle engineers rate their job?

-/5

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Principle engineer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

The Different employees i work with and what all i learn from them

Cons

very little


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019
Pros

Troubleshooting and commissioning

Cons

Undone job, when we're unable to discover certain fault on time.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Pros

Challenge, satisfaction of problem resolution and working with team

Cons

HR compliance and accounting auditing , quarterly budgeting rather than Annual as previously accepted. Wallstreet insistence on more frequent projections


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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