Jobiba Salary Intelligence
Principal Engineer salary
The median salary in Principal Engineer job ads that pay in USD is $286,476 a year (about $23,873 a month before tax). The middle half of those ads list $246,701 to $315,656, based on 22 salaries from 10 employers, updated 22 Oct 2026.
Range in job ads
$246,701–$315,656
Median in job ads: $286,476 / year
Based on 22 salary-listed job postings from the last 12 months · last updated 22 Oct 2026
How these figures are built →Analyze my salary →- Median in job ads
- $286,476
- a year
- 12-month range
- High $300,226
- Aug 2026
- Low $242,634 · Sep 2026
- Salaries
- 22
- from 10 employers
- Last updated
- 22 Oct 2026
- 12-month window to 22 Oct 2026
Salary range
Where listed pay sits
- 10th percentile
- $148,630
- 25th percentile
- $246,701
- Median
- $286,476
- 75th percentile
- $315,656
- 90th percentile
- $365,251
Box: the middle half of salaries · line: the median · whisker: 10th to 90th percentile.
Salary by company
What companies pay a Principal Engineer
Employers with at least 5 listed salaries for this role; those with 8 or more link to their own salary page. The sparkline is the company's monthly median where it has enough salaries.
| Company | Pay range chart | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Pinterest$285,452–$370,190 · 6 salaries | $326,475 | |
| Databricks$267,500–$314,088 · 6 salaries | $301,013 |
One shared scale, $263.4K to $374.3K. Box: the middle half of salaries · line: the median.
Skills and pay
Skills linked to higher Principal Engineer pay
How much higher or lower the median is for job posts that mention a skill. It shows an association, not a guarantee: better-paid jobs often bundle several scarce skills with senior scope. Skills with fewer than 8 salaries are left out.
| Skill | Pay premium chart | Pay premium |
|---|---|---|
| aimedian $287,500 · 19 salaries | up +0.4% | |
| kubernetesmedian $258,900 · 11 salaries | down −9.6% |
Pay listed by employers
Latest Principal Engineer jobs that show their pay
Pay as the employer wrote it, per year: individual job posts, not averages.
- Principal Engineer, Monetization EngineeringGitLab · Senior level · posted 19 Oct 2026$223,000 – $317,000
- Principal Engineer, AuthenticationDatabricks · Senior level · posted 17 Oct 2026$280,000 – $385,000
- Principal Engineer - PrivacyDatabricks · Senior level · posted 17 Oct 2026$220,400 – $297,400
- Principal Engineer, Compute Fleet ManagementDatabricks · Senior level · posted 17 Oct 2026$264,300 – $322,300
- Principal Engineer, AuthenticationDatabricks · Senior level · posted 17 Oct 2026$266,000 – $365,750
Evidence
Where these numbers come from
22 salaries from 10 employers, posted between 22 Oct 2025 and 22 Oct 2026. Last updated 22 Oct 2026. Every figure on this page comes from this one group of salaries; the median is the middle value, not the average.
- Employer hiring-system feeds 77%
- Pay read from posting text 14%
- Other sources 9%
Live jobs
Principal Engineer jobs
Principal Engineer, Monetization Engineering
Canada
$223K – $317K/yr
Listed salary · employer/source provided
Principal Engineer - Privacy
San Francisco, California
$220.4K – $297.4K/yr
Listed salary · employer/source provided
Principal Engineer, Authentication
Bellevue, Washington
$266K – $365.8K/yr
Listed salary · employer/source provided
Principal Engineer - Privacy
Seattle, Washington
$220.4K – $297.4K/yr
Listed salary · employer/source provided
Principal Engineer - Privacy
Mountain View, California
$278.2K – $339.3K/yr
Listed salary · employer/source provided
Principal Engineer, Authentication
Mountain View, California
$280K – $385K/yr
Listed salary · employer/source provided
Principal Engineer, Compute Fleet Management
Bellevue, Washington
$264.3K – $322.3K/yr
Listed salary · employer/source provided
Principal Engineer, Shopping & Delivery Infra
San Francisco, CA, United States
$242.6K – $499.5K/yr
Listed salary · employer/source provided
How Jobiba calculates this
Real postings first, estimates second
- • Uses salary-listed Jobiba job posts from the last 12 months, including posts that have since closed.
- • A post counts only when it states a salary, a currency and a pay period.
- • Hourly, daily, weekly and monthly pay becomes a yearly figure; no currency is converted or mixed.
- • Impossible values and extreme outliers are removed, and title variants are grouped into one role.
- • Reports the median (the middle value, not the average) and the middle half, only when enough posts back them.
- • Pay Jobiba works out for a job without a stated salary is labelled a Jobiba estimate, never shown as employer-provided pay.
Based on 22 salary-listed job postings from the last 12 months · last updated 22 Oct 2026
Next steps
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Frequently asked questions
Principal Engineer salary: common questions
What is the average Principal Engineer salary in 2026?
Job ads for Principal Engineer on Jobiba list a median salary of $286,476 a year, based on 22 salary-listed job postings. The middle half of those job ads pay between $246,701 and $315,656 a year (25th to 75th percentile).
How does Jobiba calculate Principal Engineer salary?
From 22 salary-listed Jobiba job postings from the last 12 months that state an explicit salary, currency and pay period. Hourly, daily and monthly pay is converted to an annual figure, implausible values and outliers are removed, and currencies are never mixed or converted. Jobiba publishes the median and 25th–75th percentile range only when enough comparable postings exist.