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Job outlook for senior principle engineers in the United States
Are senior principle engineer jobs in demand?
Senior principle engineer job and salary trends over time
Senior principle engineer jobs over time
Senior principle engineer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 884 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 900 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 921 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 896 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 855 | 0.00% |
Average senior principle engineer salary over time
Senior principle engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $121,825 | $58.57 | +1.1% |
| 2024 | $120,552 | $57.96 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $119,209 | $57.31 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | $117,621 | $56.55 | +1.9% |
| 2021 | $115,471 | $55.51 | +1.0% |
Senior principle engineer jobs by state
Most common states for senior principle engineers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 346 | 50% |
| 2 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,664 | 20% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,314 | 19% |
| 4 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,022 | 18% |
| 5 | Delaware | 961,939 | 169 | 18% |
| 6 | California | 39,536,653 | 6,819 | 17% |
| 7 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,246 | 17% |
| 8 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 955 | 16% |
| 9 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 498 | 16% |
| 10 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 209 | 16% |
| 11 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 638 | 15% |
| 12 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 855 | 12% |
| 13 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 674 | 12% |
| 14 | Vermont | 623,657 | 68 | 11% |
| 15 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 355 | 10% |
| 16 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 110 | 10% |
| 17 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 56 | 10% |
| 18 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 935 | 9% |
| 19 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 448 | 9% |
| 20 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 171 | 9% |
Most common cities for senior principle engineers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rolling Meadows | 1 | 4% | $119,987 |
| 2 | East Hartford | 1 | 2% | $117,218 |
| 3 | Rockford | 2 | 1% | $119,783 |
| 4 | San Jose | 1 | 0% | $153,808 |
| 5 | Washington | 1 | 0% | $113,813 |
Senior Principle Engineer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of senior principle engineer experts
Seattle University
University of Minnesota - Duluth
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Wilkes University
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Bellingham Technical College
Duke University
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology - Okmulgee
University of San Diego
University of Wisconsin - Platteville
University of South Alabama
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Tzuyang Yu Ph.D.: Employee must add value to the company by improving efficiency, reducing cost, and ensuring safety. Being able to bring value to the company leads to a salary raise and a promotion.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Tzuyang Yu Ph.D.: Improve communication skills, develop organization skills, continue learning new knowledge in the areas related to work, expand connections by learning what other people do, identify one or two mentors as role models for long-term career development.
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Tzuyang Yu Ph.D.: A few tips to share with junior engineers are listed below. Be eager to learn from peers and other senior engineers, be open-minded to make friends, be adaptive to different cultures in the work environment, be professional (e.g., be punctual at deadlines, be mindful in appearance), be empathetic (focus on people, not mobile devices).
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Kambiz Farahmand Ph.D., P.E.: After you proved yourself to your peers and supervisors, you can always ask your price. Otherwise, there are a lot of other companies that will meet your ask and value your abilities.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kambiz Farahmand Ph.D., P.E.: Hit the ground running. If you are asked to put in 40 hours work 50 hours. Prove yourself and always take on new challenges since that is how you grow.
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Kambiz Farahmand Ph.D., P.E.: All engineering and technical skills will be in need. People who are capable to use technology will be in high demand. Project management skills. Ability to use various software and be able to do some coding. Understanding of AI and how it applies to the specific work that you do.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Julie Brandis: Oregon State University provides support in salary negotiation, also students can work with mentors who are familiar with company hiring practices and wage structures. If you have internship experience, that can help to boost your starting salary.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Julie Brandis: The nation needs engineers across many disciplines. There isn’t one skill that is needed. Honesty and integrity (do what’s right, be honest and be dependable) Leadership - ability to meet deadlines, resolve conflict, balance competing demands, communicate in groups and influence peers, manage budgets
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Julie Brandis: Engineering is a highly transferable degree – so take the time to visit with many employers. At Oregon State University we provide those opportunities beyond traditional career fairs. Companies are seeking students who do well in the classroom as well as students who engage in other activities and clubs – that can be sports, a student club or community organization.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Davide Masato: The high demand for plastics engineers facilitates maximizing starting salaries. Graduates with co-op experience enjoy a competitive edge. To grow both as engineers and team members, young professionals should actively seek professional development opportunities. Continuous learning and seeking advancement within the organization or externally are key. Pursuing advanced degrees or certifications, even remotely, enhances qualifications and marketability.
Christopher Misorski FASM
Brunswick Technical Fellow-Materials Product Development & EngineeringWhat general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Christopher Misorski FASM: My first thoughts on beginning in any field or with any company is “be a sponge” about what the company is doing and what they want you to work on. Do way more listening and observing than talking. Learn the processes used AND the pitfalls/challenges of those processes. It is highly valuable to spend many hours “watching production” to gather first-hand knowledge of what is going on. Ask questions and don’t be quick to criticize a production employees’ explanation of the problem, even if you are quite sure technically that it is not fully correct. Their explanation fits the issues they see with their learned knowledge over time. There are valuable insights there. Also, just because you graduated with a degree, that doesn’t mean your education is finished. Continue to learn by attending relevant conferences for your field, attending training classes, watching webinars, attending local professional society technical meetings and talking to other experts in the field at these meetings. There is a LOT of knowledge out there and many methods of learning more.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Christopher Misorski FASM: While it is tough to predict the future with any accuracy, the best skill-set(s) for succeeding revolve around continuing education and learning what is possible with future materials or future manufacturing methods. Just remember, what you may learn at a conference or meeting may not be immediately relevant to your job, but down the road it could provide valuable solutions or insights into new problems that require “fixing”. In addition to continuing education in your field of interest, improving communication skills, both oral and written are important. Having the solution to a problem is useless unless the ideas can be communicated effectively and clearly to the audience that needs to hear the message. Remember, many in the audience are probably not materials engineers or any type of engineer potentially, so communicate at the appropriate level.
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Christopher Misorski FASM: Maximizing salary potential at the start of your career is not a clear pathway generally. One way that you can be considered more valuable, and hence worth a better salary, is to have participated in a co-op or internship program with a company in your field. This experience gives employers some confidence that you were able to carry out assignments and thrive in a workplace environment. The employer that you worked for may be inclined to offer you a position upon graduation and you are now worth more because you have already proven to them your abilities. Even if they don’t offer you a job (no appropriate open position may be available) your ability to discuss your experiences with the HR recruiter or hiring manager at another company can instill confidence in your selection as a hire. Just remember, if you tell them you did a project, be prepared to explain it so it doesn’t appear you were just in the background of this project, just going along for the ride.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Thomas Congedo PhD: That comes from your ability to focus on technical product of the highest quality, always seeking to truly understand the customer’s needs. For example, often a customer will phrase a problem by stating the solution he or she assumes. Taking the time to respectfully draw out the thinking further can make you the customer’s hero, and this makes you the person likely to be selected for the challenging and most rewarded assignments.
Jhon Smith
Associate Professor and Director of MS in Structural EngineeringSeattle University
Civil Engineering
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Jhon Smith: Do not be afraid to ask questions to your supervisors (although do not take it to an extreme and become demanding—show initiative). You get the fundamentals of engineering at school and you are equipped to use them but it takes a few years to feel comfortable. Engineering is a profession of practice and it is only through practice that you best learn it.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jhon Smith: Expand your network, join professional organizations and committees, become valuable in whatever company you work for, never stop learning, seek for opportunities for professional work, get your PE license. After these you will become more valuable naturally and could comfortably ask for a promotion or a salary increase because you’d know you deserve it.
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Jhon Smith: Professional skills such as being able to communicate clearly, being flexible, open-minded, eager to take on challenges, adept and working with others and taking ownership of the projects tasks given to you. Staying grounded to the fundamental concepts you learn in school so every time you run a sophisticated piece of software to do design you must be able to use those fundamentals to check the results.
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Richard Davis: Engineering offers career opportunities across various industries, from technology and healthcare to infrastructure and environmental sustainability. With technological advancements and the increasing complexity of global challenges, such as climate change, food and clean water, and urbanization, engineers are in high demand to develop innovative solutions. For example, environmental engineers are crucial in developing sustainable solutions to reduce pollution and conserve resources. Engineering provides opportunities for creativity and problem-solving, making it a rewarding career choice for those who enjoy tackling complex problems. The global focus on sustainability and renewable energy presents exciting prospects for engineers to contribute to meaningful projects that positively impact society and the environment.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Mishah Salman Ph.D.: An underappreciated skill that I think will become more sought-after is the ability to validate computer-made decisions and their shortcomings. With the growing prominence of AI use in design, problem solving, and decision making, the engineering field will need experts to error-check decisions made using these technologies. Sometimes there are unexplored gaps that these technologies overlook, and sometimes there are biases or inappropriate assumptions baked into AI-based results. Humans are inherently imaginative and creative. We excel at picking up on things that computer algorithms may miss. Talented experts that recognize and address these issues will remain invaluable in the workforce. Another indispensable skill that is often overlooked in engineering is effective interpersonal communication. Whether in a teamwork context, a leadership role, or a client interaction, competent communication is crucial. This can take the form of conversation, live presentations, written correspondence, and beyond. People that hone their communication skills are often recognized, and tend to be the individuals that are promoted to more senior roles.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Mansooreh Mollaghasemi Ph.D.: Concurrent with building technical skills, they must build soft skills such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership. These skills are often the differentiators between good and great engineers.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Michael Denn: 1. Become the expert in whatever you do. 2. Understand how your work fits into the bigger picture and keep that in mind when you do your work. 3. Keep learning! Your engineering degree is not the end of your education! 4. Take stretch assignments and opportunities whenever you can.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Michael Denn: 1. The time needed to progress from an idea to a quality prototype is continually decreasing. That trend will likely continue. Skills that support short development times, such as computer modeling, simulations and rapid prototyping, will continue to be valued. 2. One skill that will always be valuable is the ability to acquire new knowledge and apply it to the task at hand.
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Michael Denn: The answers to this question are largely the same as the answer to question 1. However, here are some additional points: 1. Excel in your job. Become the person everyone goes to for whatever type of work you do. 2. Develop and maintain a career plan. Make sure your assignments and tasks align with your plan. When you have the opportunity to change positions, keep you plan in mind.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Marleen Troy Ph.D., P.E., BCEE: Plan to get your PE license. Take advantage of every opportunity to learn and become proficient with a new skill or a new area of expertise. Continue to develop both your technical and leadership skills.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Marleen Troy Ph.D., P.E., BCEE: Technical, management, leadership, and organizational skills will always be important. Becoming proficient in new areas such as AI (artificial intelligence) best practices will be needed.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Dr. Kelvin Erickson: 1. Hone your “soft skills” by working with a volunteer organization, like Boy/Girl Scouts, church, Rotary Club, Optimists, etc., and be one of the leaders in the organization. You will learn how to work with people and motivate people that you cannot force to do something. This experience is good training for future positions in management. 2. Join a public-speaking organization, like Toastmasters, to further develop those skills. In addition, volunteer to be the speaker for an event when the opportunity arises. 3. Do not be afraid to take on new challenges and learn new skills.
Kyle Miller
Welding Technologies instructor - Pipe TradesBellingham Technical College
Precision Metal Working
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Kyle Miller: Certifications and Qualifications. A worker can only build experience at a somewhat fixed rate based off of time in the field. Certifications however are a way for people on nearly all trades to augment their earning potential. I have often seen instances where the person who was the most willing to pursue a needed certification quickly became an indispensable asset amongst the crew/staff.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Dr. Jimmie Lenz D.B.A.: A primary reason is the value placed on the quantitative nature of an engineering degree and the fact that this is primarily applied learning and skills, as opposed to the theoretical nature of some other areas of quantitative study. Being able to start working as soon as they start is very attractive to employers, as well as the broad knowledge of software, artificial intelligence, and data science that most engineers leave school with.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Jimmie Lenz D.B.A.: Engineering encompasses so many areas of modern life that it’s impossible to provide a comprehensive answer here. The training that engineers receive, both the technical and the applied nature, make these individuals quite attractive to all types of industries. Perhaps the most surprising to many people are the significant number of engineers employed in financial services.
Jim Gordon
Faculty- Construction ManagementOklahoma State University Institute of Technology - Okmulgee
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jim Gordon: First, always be learning, the more you know the more value you have as an employee. Show up on time ready to work and always give your best effort.
Dr. Imane Khalil
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Dean of Graduate ProgramsUniversity of San Diego
Mechanical Engineering
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Imane Khalil: While technologies like AI and data science are becoming important across all sectors from medicine to engineering, the most crucial skill for any profession remains people skills. Continuously developing your interpersonal abilities, such as respecting colleagues, honesty, reliability, and effective communication, is the most important key to success at work.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Prof. Harold Evensen: Engineering Physics graduates have had a wide range of experiences as working engineers. Engineers use technology to solve problems for society, and they play a lot of roles in this process. Their day-to-day job can involve a mix of technical skills and knowledge, interpersonal skills, and communication. Tasks include such things as designing electrical and/or mechanical systems; conducting tests and experiments to improve products or manufacturing processes; working with clients and customers to identify their needs and determine the best way to meet them; writing reports, summaries, and project proposals; and managing cross-disciplinary teams.
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Prof. Harold Evensen: Engineering Physics students and graduates like gaining an understanding of the “physics” of why or how something works, and then applying this knowledge to make judgments and improvements. They also like learning and applying knowledge from several disciplines. A common “dislike” is beyond their control: some employers may not understand what “Engineering Physics” is, or may have incorrect preconceived notions. At UW-Platteville, employers are familiar with this major, which is approaching 30 years on campus. Additionally, faculty work with students on how to present their “story” to employers. Engineering Physics students need to be able to present their strengths and abilities to employers, and often can’t rely only on “name recognition.” In the long run, this is better, anyway. Overall, we have had success: among accredited Engineering Physics degree programs in the U.S., UW-Platteville puts the most graduates directly into industry!
Edmund Spencer
Associate ProfessorUniversity of South Alabama
Electrical, Electronics, And Communications Engineering
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Edmund Spencer: Involvement in lots of different projects while in school to increase the number of bullet points in the resume.
What Senior Principle Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Edmund Spencer: Look for jobs that have the highest technical content, and try to develop entrepreneurial skills early.
What will help Senior Principle Engineers increase their earning potential?
Edmund Spencer: The systems integrated approach to engineering, more dependence on machine learning, signal processing and statistical tools.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Principle Engineer?
Daniel Armentrout: The excessive number of baby boomer engineers are retiring at high rates and you as a new engineering graduate are desperately needed to make up for their loss in the workforce. You will face challenges in your career we could not anticipate or prepare you for in your education. You will have to adapt and continue to learn new fields of study which did not exist when you graduated. We have given you tools to learn and you will have to use those tools to remain relevant throughout your career. Find your place as an engineer when you can be effective, help humanity, and have fun. Plot a career path where you can utilize your strengths and challenge your mind to do new things. Contribute to making a better world and you will be able to enjoy immense satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.