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Senior software engineer lead salary
Average senior software engineer lead salary
$129,060
Average Senior Software Engineer Lead Salary
A Senior Software Engineer Lead commands an average salary of $129,060 per year. This figure varies based on several factors including experience, geographic location, and industry. In tech hubs like Silicon Valley and New York, salaries can be significantly higher due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.
How Much Does a Senior Software Engineer Lead Make?
Typically, entry-level positions start lower, while seasoned professionals can earn upwards of $150,000 annually. Compensation packages often include bonuses, stock options, and benefits which enhance total earnings.
Where Can a Senior Software Engineer Lead Earn More?
States such as California, Washington, and Massachusetts consistently offer the highest salaries for this role. For instance, the average salary in California can exceed $140,000.
Highest Paying Cities for Senior Software Engineers Lead
- San Francisco, CA
- New York, NY
- Seattle, WA
- Boston, MA
These cities not only provide competitive salaries but also offer vibrant tech communities, enhancing career growth opportunities for professionals.
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Where can a Senior Software Engineer Lead earn more?
Average senior software engineer lead salary by state
The highest-paying states for senior software engineers lead are Washington, California, and Oregon. The lowest average senior software engineer lead salary states are Nebraska, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for senior software engineers lead
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $157,751 | $75.84 |
| 2 | California | $147,463 | $70.90 |
| 3 | Oregon | $132,896 | $63.89 |
| 4 | Utah | $124,679 | $59.94 |
| 5 | Nevada | $122,892 | $59.08 |
| 6 | Alaska | $120,545 | $57.95 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $117,209 | $56.35 |
| 8 | Arizona | $115,341 | $55.45 |
| 9 | Arkansas | $112,258 | $53.97 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $121,140 | $58.24 |
| 11 | West Virginia | $115,794 | $55.67 |
| 12 | District of Columbia | $116,523 | $56.02 |
| 13 | Texas | $111,760 | $53.73 |
| 14 | Michigan | $108,665 | $52.24 |
| 15 | Indiana | $111,711 | $53.71 |
| 16 | Maryland | $112,721 | $54.19 |
| 17 | Vermont | $109,792 | $52.78 |
| 18 | Idaho | $108,447 | $52.14 |
| 19 | Louisiana | $113,090 | $54.37 |
| 20 | Montana | $107,864 | $51.86 |
| 21 | Delaware | $110,329 | $53.04 |
| 22 | Maine | $110,859 | $53.30 |
| 23 | New York | $112,620 | $54.14 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $107,495 | $51.68 |
| 25 | New Mexico | $108,043 | $51.94 |
| 26 | Virginia | $109,920 | $52.85 |
| 27 | Hawaii | $124,326 | $59.77 |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | $107,941 | $51.89 |
| 29 | Rhode Island | $104,466 | $50.22 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | $108,143 | $51.99 |
| 31 | Florida | $109,051 | $52.43 |
| 32 | Alabama | $103,167 | $49.60 |
| 33 | Georgia | $105,202 | $50.58 |
| 34 | North Dakota | $102,528 | $49.29 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | $104,397 | $50.19 |
| 36 | Colorado | $102,554 | $49.30 |
| 37 | Ohio | $101,295 | $48.70 |
| 38 | New Jersey | $103,398 | $49.71 |
| 39 | Iowa | $101,996 | $49.04 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $101,167 | $48.64 |
| 41 | Missouri | $103,646 | $49.83 |
| 42 | Kansas | $99,539 | $47.86 |
| 43 | North Carolina | $101,110 | $48.61 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $102,878 | $49.46 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $98,397 | $47.31 |
| 46 | Illinois | $100,598 | $48.36 |
| 47 | South Dakota | $95,040 | $45.69 |
| 48 | Minnesota | $96,314 | $46.30 |
| 49 | Kentucky | $96,761 | $46.52 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $95,271 | $45.80 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $97,025 | $46.65 |
Highest paying cities for senior software engineers lead
The highest-paying cities for senior software engineers lead are Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA, and Portland, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | $159,475 | $76.67 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $157,002 | $75.48 |
| 3 | Portland, OR | $132,789 | $63.84 |
| 4 | Hartford, CT | $121,180 | $58.26 |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $117,296 | $56.39 |
| 6 | Washington, DC | $116,598 | $56.06 |
| 7 | Phoenix, AZ | $115,566 | $55.56 |
| 8 | New York, NY | $112,767 | $54.21 |
| 9 | Columbia, MD | $112,761 | $54.21 |
| 10 | Austin, TX | $112,355 | $54.02 |
| 11 | Richmond, VA | $109,706 | $52.74 |
| 12 | Atlanta, GA | $104,909 | $50.44 |
| 13 | Milwaukee, WI | $104,539 | $50.26 |
| 14 | OFallon, MO | $103,728 | $49.87 |
| 15 | Jersey City, NJ | $103,616 | $49.82 |
| 16 | Columbia, SC | $102,862 | $49.45 |
| 17 | Colorado Springs, CO | $102,651 | $49.35 |
| 18 | Raleigh, NC | $102,068 | $49.07 |
| 19 | Chicago, IL | $100,857 | $48.49 |
| 20 | Dublin, OH | $100,326 | $48.23 |
Senior software engineer lead salary details
A senior software engineer lead's salary ranges from $96,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $173,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a senior software engineer lead's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $173,000 | $14,417 | $83 |
| 75th Percentile | $150,000 | $12,500 | $72 |
| Average | $129,060 | $10,755 | $62 |
| 25th Percentile | $110,000 | $9,167 | $53 |
| 10th Percentile | $96,000 | $8,000 | $46 |
Highest paying senior software engineer lead jobs
The highest paying types of senior software engineers lead are staff software engineer, principal software engineer, and senior/lead developer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Architect | $114,406 | $9,534 | $55.00 | 319,594 |
| Lead Engineer | $84,927 | $7,077 | $40.83 | 301,777 |
| Lead Software Developer | $115,072 | $9,589 | $55.32 | 309,029 |
| Software Systems Engineer | $107,102 | $8,925 | $51.49 | 370,518 |
| Software Quality Engineer | $99,902 | $8,325 | $48.03 | 279,437 |
| Software Engineer-Consultant | $113,987 | $9,499 | $54.80 | 317,033 |
Top companies hiring senior software engineers lead now:
Which companies pay senior software engineers lead the most?
Senior software engineer lead salaries at PitchBook Data and Microsoft are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior software engineer lead salary at companies like Vista Equity Partners and Adobe are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PitchBook Data | $175,096 | $84.18 |
| 2 | Microsoft | $166,082 | $79.85 |
| 3 | Vista Equity Partners | $160,235 | $77.04 |
| 4 | Adobe | $155,586 | $74.80 |
| 5 | Upwork | $152,253 | $73.20 |
| 6 | RingCentral | $152,251 | $73.20 |
| 7 | Citi | $149,854 | $72.05 |
| 8 | Kidaptive | $149,794 | $72.02 |
| 9 | Santander Private Banking International | $149,112 | $71.69 |
| 10 | Amazon | $147,994 | $71.15 |
| 11 | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $146,053 | $70.22 |
| 12 | Glassdoor | $145,907 | $70.15 |
| 13 | Arista Networks | $145,789 | $70.09 |
| 14 | Sittercity | $145,596 | $70.00 |
| 15 | Lifesize | $145,487 | $69.95 |
| 16 | Navistar | $145,183 | $69.80 |
| 17 | Univision Communications | $144,546 | $69.49 |
| 18 | CyberCoders | $142,614 | $68.56 |
| 19 | Santander Bank | $141,604 | $68.08 |
| 20 | Telecom | $140,913 | $67.75 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Senior Software Engineer Lead salary by industry
The average senior software engineer lead salary varies across industries:
- The average senior software engineer lead salary in the finance industry is $126,343, the highest of any industry.
- The average senior software engineer lead salary in the finance industry is $125,239.
- Senior software engineers lead in the insurance industry earn an average salary of $89,533, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for senior software engineers lead
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance | $126,343 | $60.74 |
| 2 | Technology | $125,239 | $60.21 |
| 3 | Professional | $122,182 | $58.74 |
| 4 | Insurance | $89,533 | $43.04 |
High paying senior software engineer lead jobs
Senior software engineer lead salary trends
The average senior software engineer lead salary has risen by $23,959 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior software engineer lead earned $105,101 annually, but today, they earn $129,060 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for senior software engineers lead over the last decade.
Compare senior software engineer lead salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average senior software engineer lead salary over time
Compare senior software engineer lead salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Senior software engineer lead salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $129,000 | $62.05 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $125,000 | $60.00 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $122,000 | $58.65 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | $120,000 | $57.61 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $118,000 | $56.64 | +1.8% |
Recently added senior software engineer lead salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One | Senior Manager, Software Engineering, Back End-People Leader | Plano, TX | 06/30/2025 | $204,900 |
| Leidos Holdings Inc. | Senior Software Engineer Lead | San Diego, CA | 06/28/2025 | $126,100 |
| The Blackstone Group | Senior Software Engineering Lead-Hedge Fund Solutions Technology | New York, NY | 06/28/2025 | $175,000 |
| Emerson | Lead Senior Software Engineer | Chanhassen, MN | 06/27/2025 | $110,000 |
| CGI | Lead Senior Software Engineer | Greenville, SC | 06/26/2025 | $88,200 |
| Blackstone | Senior Software Engineering Lead-Hedge Fund Solutions Technology | Fine, NY | 06/25/2025 | $175,000 |
| Paragoncommunity | Engineer Lead Senior | Richmond, VA | 06/24/2025 | $179,280 |
| Elevance Health | Engineer Lead Senior | Richmond, VA | 06/17/2025 | $179,280 |
| Carebridge | Engineer Lead Senior | Richmond, VA | 06/16/2025 | $179,280 |
| Arsiem | 298-Senior Software Engineer Lead | Linthicum, MD | 06/12/2025 | $185,000 |
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