ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Principal Development Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Expedia

Principal Software Development Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$153K - $206K/yr

Principal Software Development Engineer This role sits within Expedia's Traveler & Partner Service Platform (TPSP) Product & Technology organization, which builds the core capabilities and ...

HOERBIGER Holding AG

Principal R&D Engineer

Waukegan, IL · On-site

$106K - $160K/yr

Principal R&D Engineer Country/Region: United States Job Location: Waukegan Required Travel (%): 5 Work Model: onsite Principal R&D Engineer Your Mission As a Senior Research and Development Engineer ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

All JobsPrincipal Development Engineer Jobs

Principal Development Engineer information

See salary details

$74K

$147.2K

$212.5K

How much do principal development engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 24, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal development engineer in the United States is $147,220.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $118,500.00 and $173,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Principal Development Engineer vs Senior Software Engineer?

AspectPrincipal Development EngineerSenior Software Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Engineering, extensive experience, possibly certifications in specific technologiesBachelor's or Master's in Computer Science or related field, several years of experience
Work EnvironmentLead technical projects, influence architecture, collaborate across teamsDevelop software, implement features, troubleshoot issues
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, manufacturing, R&D departmentsSoftware development firms, tech startups, IT departments
Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding senior technical roles, career progressionTechnical expertise, hands-on development focus

The Principal Development Engineer typically holds a higher level of responsibility, focusing on leading projects and strategic technical decisions, whereas a Senior Software Engineer primarily concentrates on coding and implementing solutions. Both roles require strong technical skills, but the Principal role involves broader influence and leadership within the organization.

What engineers make $500,000?

Principal Development Engineers in high-demand industries such as technology, finance, and aerospace can earn $500,000 or more annually, especially with extensive experience, advanced skills, and leadership responsibilities. Compensation often includes base salary, bonuses, and stock options, particularly in large tech companies or startups with significant growth potential.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Principal Development Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Principal Development Engineer, you need extensive experience in software or hardware development, advanced problem-solving abilities, and typically a bachelor's or master's degree in engineering or a related field. Mastery of relevant programming languages, development frameworks, and project management tools, as well as certifications like PMP or Agile, is highly valuable. Leadership, collaboration, and strong communication skills are essential for guiding teams and managing complex projects. These competencies are crucial for driving technical innovation, ensuring project success, and fostering a high-performing engineering environment.

How does a Principal Development Engineer typically collaborate with cross-functional teams during product development?

As a Principal Development Engineer, you'll frequently work with cross-functional teams including product managers, designers, QA engineers, and operations staff. Your role involves translating product requirements into technical solutions, providing technical leadership, and ensuring alignment across departments. Effective communication and the ability to balance technical constraints with business priorities are key. You'll also mentor junior engineers and help set coding standards to maintain high-quality deliverables throughout the development lifecycle.

What is a principal development engineer?

A principal development engineer is a senior technical role responsible for leading complex engineering projects, designing system architectures, and mentoring teams. They typically have extensive experience in software or hardware development, strong problem-solving skills, and often work with cross-functional teams to ensure technical excellence and project success.

Can you make $500,000 as an electrical engineer?

Principal Development Engineers and experienced electrical engineers in specialized industries or leadership roles can potentially earn $500,000 or more annually, especially with advanced skills, certifications, and in high-demand sectors like aerospace or power systems. However, such salaries are typically reserved for senior-level positions with significant experience and responsibility.

What are Principal Development Engineers?

Principal Development Engineers are senior-level professionals who lead technical development efforts within engineering teams. They are responsible for designing and overseeing the implementation of complex systems or products, providing technical guidance to other engineers, and ensuring that engineering best practices are followed. In addition to their technical expertise, they often collaborate with stakeholders, manage project timelines, and help set the technical direction for their organization. Their role is critical in bridging the gap between engineering execution and strategic business goals.

What engineers make $300,000 a year?

Principal Development Engineers and senior software engineers with extensive experience, specialized skills, and leadership responsibilities can earn $300,000 or more annually. High compensation often reflects expertise in areas like cloud computing, AI, or large-scale system design, along with advanced certifications and a strong track record of project delivery.
More about Principal Development Engineer jobs
What states have the most Principal Development Engineer jobs? States with the most job openings for Principal Development Engineer jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Principal Development Engineer jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Principal Development Engineer jobs are:
Principal Development Engineer jobs near you
Principal Software Development Engineer in Test

Principal Software Development Engineer in Test

eClinical Solutions

Mansfield, MA

$142K - $191K/yr

Other

Posted 5 days ago

Job description

Principal Software Engineer in Test

eClinical Solutions is transforming clinical development with elluminate, our Clinical Data Cloud, helping life sciences organizations unify, analyze, and unlock the value of their data faster than ever before. By combining a modern cloud platform with expert data services, we empower smarter decisions across the clinical trial lifecycle-accelerating innovation that ultimately improves patient outcomes.

Our engineering teams build enterprise-grade, revenue-generating products at the intersection of cloud, data, analytics, and emerging AI technologies. If you're excited about building sophisticated software that makes a real-world impact in healthcare, this is the place to do it.

You will make an impact:

The Principal SDET will be a core member of the eClinical Solutions R&D Team. The Principal SDET will be primarily responsible for architecting and evolving automation frameworks and infrastructure, providing technical leadership, mentoring engineers, reviewing automation code quality, driving automation strategy, ensuring scalable and maintainable test automation solutions across the organization, and driving the initiative of migrating existing tests and infrastructure onto a new testing platform. In addition, the Principal SDET will collaborate closely with development, DevOps, architecture, and QA teams to establish best practices for automation, quality engineering, continuous testing, and system reliability. This position will report to the Senior Director, Software Quality Assurance

Your day to day:

  • Design, develop, and maintain scalable enterprise-level test automation frameworks from scratch.
  • Lead framework and infrastructure evolution initiatives as part of the global SQA automation team.
  • Drive migration initiatives for existing automation frameworks, test suites, and infrastructure onto modern testing platforms.
  • Provide technical leadership and mentorship to automation engineers and SDET teams.
  • Hands-on experience in automating web-based applications using Playwright (PW) with C#/.NET.
  • Strong experience in automating REST API testing, service validation, and integration testing.
  • Experience validating database integrity, backend data consistency, and end-to-end data flows using SQL-based verification techniques.
  • Drive Shift-Left testing practices by integrating automated quality validation early in the software development lifecycle.
  • Design, build, and maintain ephemeral test environments for scalable and isolated automated testing workflows.
  • Hands-on experience testing applications in ephemeral/containerized environments as part of CI/CD pipelines.
  • Review and audit automation code for quality, maintainability, performance, and adherence to coding standards.
  • Review automation execution reports and proactively follow up on discrepancies and failures.
  • Train and mentor team members on framework usage, coding standards, automation best practices, and engineering principles.
  • Drive adoption of Active Coding practices, clean code principles, and object-oriented programming (OOP) methodologies.
  • Collaborate with development teams, architects, DevOps engineers, and stakeholders to improve product quality and delivery efficiency.
  • Design and implement parallel and distributed test execution capabilities.
  • Contribute to CI/CD pipeline implementation and continuous testing strategies.
  • Work with Docker containerization technologies for scalable automation execution environments.
  • Participate in automation solutioning aligned with modern industry trends including cloud-native technologies, AI/ML-assisted testing, and scalable distributed systems.
  • Support API and integration testing efforts involving HTTP/REST services, authentication, and secure communication protocols including TLS.
  • Provide technical guidance on systems architecture, automation infrastructure, and engineering best practices.
  • Create and maintain technical documentation, standards, architecture diagrams, and Confluence documentation.
  • Take the first step towards your dream career. Here is what we are looking for in this role.

Qualifications: 

  • BE in Computer Science and/or equivalent.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
  • 8-15 years of hands-on experience in software development engineering in test (SDET), automation engineering, or quality engineering.
  • Strong experience designing enterprise automation frameworks and scalable automation infrastructure
  • Strong understanding of QA concepts, software testing methodologies, automation tools, and modern engineering practices.
  • Expertise in designing and implementing scalable automation frameworks and infrastructure.
  • Strong programming expertise in C#/.NET and object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts.
  • Hands-on experience with Active Coding practices and modern software engineering standards.
  • Strong understanding of SQL and database validation techniques.
  • Good understanding of HTTP/REST APIs, web services, and network communication fundamentals.
  • Knowledge of TLS/security concepts and secure communication protocols.
  • Strong understanding of systems architecture and distributed application design.
  • Hands-on experience with Docker containers and containerized execution environments.
  • Practical experience implementing Shift-Left testing strategies across the SDLC.
  • Strong experience building, managing, and testing within ephemeral environments.
  • Experience integrating ephemeral environments into CI/CD and automated testing workflows.
  • Experience with CI/CD tools, build management systems, cloud-native platforms, and DevOps practices.
  • Experience using source control and project management tools such as Git, Bitbucket, Jira, and AWS services/platforms.
  • Expertise in Playwright (PW) automation including framework design, tooling, infrastructure, and parallel execution.
  • Strong experience in API automation testing using REST services and service-layer validation.
  • Strong understanding of database testing, data integrity validation, and backend system verification.
  • Ability to evaluate and recommend suitable technologies, tools, and automation strategies aligned with current industry trends.
  • Strong competencies in DevOps, Continuous Testing, Continuous Integration, and Continuous Delivery.
  • Ability to analyze complex systems and propose efficient automation solutions.
  • Experience providing end-to-end technical leadership and support for testing engagements.
  • Strong presentation, communication, and technical documentation skills.
  • Ability to lead organization-wide automation capability enhancements and engineering initiatives.
  • Automation Skills: Framework Development, Playwright (PW) with C#/.NET, REST API Automation, Database/Data Integrity Validation, Parallel Test Execution, Shift-Left Testing, Ephemeral Environment Testing, CI/CD Automation
  • Programming Languages & Technologies: C#, .NET, SQL, PL/SQL, REST APIs, HTTP/HTTPS, TLS/Security Fundamentals
  • Architecture & Engineering: Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), Systems Architecture, Distributed Systems Understanding, Docker Containers, Ephemeral Environment Architecture
  • Databases: SQL Server
  • Cloud & DevOps Platforms: AWS, Docker, CI/CD Tooling, Git, Bitbucket, Jira, TeamCity
  • Additional Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications and Confluence

Accelerate your skills and career within a fast-growing company while impacting the future of healthcare. We have shared our story, now we look forward to learning yours!

eClinical is a winner of the 2025 Top Workplaces USA Award for Remote Work! We have also received numerous Top Workplaces Culture Excellence Awards celebrating our exceptional company vision, values, and work-life balance. See all the details here: https://topworkplaces.com/company/eclinical-solutions/

eClinical Solutions is a people first organization. Our inclusive culture values the contribution that diversity brings to our business. We celebrate individual experiences that connect us and that inspire innovation in our community. Our team seeks out opportunities to learn, grow and continuously improve. Bring your authentic self, you are welcome here!

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer that values diversity. Our management team is committed to the principle that employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, culture fit and business need.

#LI-AB1

Apply