San Francisco · United States
Principal Engineer salary in San Francisco
The median salary in Principal Engineer job ads in San Francisco, United States is $285,775 a year (about $23,815 a month before tax). The middle half of those ads list $257,475 to $356,873, based on 10 salaries from 7 employers, updated 11 Nov 2026.
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- Median in job ads
- $285,775
- a year
- 12-month range
- High $271,550
- Oct 2026
- Low $271,550 · Oct 2026
- Salaries
- 10
- from 7 employers
- Last updated
- 11 Nov 2026
- 12-month window to 11 Nov 2026
Salary range
Where pay sits in San Francisco
- 10th percentile
- $241,871
- 25th percentile
- $257,475
- Median
- $285,775
- 75th percentile
- $356,873
- 90th percentile
- $371,088
10 salaries · 12 live local jobs. Box: the middle half of salaries · line: the median · whisker: 10th to 90th percentile.
Compared with the United States median of 74 salaries: up +10.1%
Based on 10 salary-listed job postings from the last 12 months · last updated 11 Nov 2026
Pay listed by employers
Latest Principal Engineer jobs that show their pay in San Francisco
Pay as the employer wrote it, per year: individual job posts, not averages.
- Principal EngineerIronclad · Senior level · posted 7 Nov 2026$285,000 – $315,000
- Principal EngineerVitalize · Senior level · posted 7 Nov 2026$195,000 – $275,000
- Principal Engineer, Core Product (Hybrid)Homebase · Senior level · posted 30 Oct 2026$237,300 – $305,800
- Principal Engineer (backed by Y Combinator, $5M+ ARR, $23M+ raised)Legion Health · Senior level · posted 29 Oct 2026$250,000 – $400,000
- Principal Engineer, Software (Enterprise Platform)Lila Sciences · Senior level · posted 27 Oct 2026$204,000 – $310,000
Evidence
Where these numbers come from
10 salaries from 7 employers, posted between 11 Nov 2025 and 11 Nov 2026. Last updated 11 Nov 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 100%
Frequently asked questions
Principal Engineer salary in San Francisco: common questions
What is the average Principal Engineer salary in San Francisco in 2026?
Job ads for Principal Engineer in San Francisco on Jobiba list a median salary of $285,775 a year, based on 10 salary-listed job postings. The middle half of those job ads pay between $257,475 and $356,873 a year (25th to 75th percentile).
How does Principal Engineer pay in San Francisco compare with the United States median?
The Principal Engineer median in San Francisco is +10.1% versus the United States median for the same role on Jobiba.
How does Jobiba calculate Principal Engineer salary in San Francisco?
From 10 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.