1

Principal Engineer Jobs in Tennessee (NOW HIRING)

Aristocrat is a world leader in gaming content and technology, and they are seeking a Principal Engineer to master and elevate the technical craft of their next-generation gaming platform. In this ...

Position Summary The Principal Engineer will be spearheading the development of a cutting-edge Agentic AI platform that leverages our healthcare RCM data lakehouse to revolutionize revenue cycle ...

Position Summary The Principal Engineer will be spearheading the development of a cutting-edge Agentic AI platform that leverages our healthcare RCM data lakehouse to revolutionize revenue cycle ...

Position Summary The Principal Engineer will be spearheading the development of a cutting-edge Agentic AI platform that leverages our healthcare RCM data lakehouse to revolutionize revenue cycle ...

Principal Project Engineer The Principal Project Engineer will be a project manager for the larger and more complex projects executed by the Processing or Packaging team. This position will be ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

Principal Engineer information

See Tennessee salary details

$67.2K

$133.6K

$192.9K

How much do principal engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 27, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal engineer in Tennessee is $133,619.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $107,600.00 and $157,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What Is a Principal Engineer?

A principal engineer oversees the research, development, and design of engineering projects for a company or organization. These engineering experts are leaders in their industries and need an advanced understanding of their discipline to manage projects and guide team members. As a principal engineer, your job duties include creating budgets, negotiating with vendors, and delegating work. You may also train staff members, set project deadlines, and work to improve engineering application processes.

What is the difference between Principal Engineer vs Senior Engineer?

AspectPrincipal EngineerSenior Engineer
CredentialsTypically requires 8+ years of experience, advanced technical skills, and often leadership or mentorship experienceUsually requires 3-7 years of experience with strong technical skills
Work EnvironmentLeads complex projects, influences technical strategy, collaborates across teamsFocuses on executing technical tasks, supporting project development, and mentoring junior staff
Employer & Industry UsageCommon in large tech companies, engineering firms, and organizations with advanced technical hierarchiesWidely used across industries for experienced technical contributors

The main difference between a Principal Engineer and a Senior Engineer lies in their level of responsibility, experience, and influence. Principal Engineers typically lead complex projects and shape technical strategies, while Senior Engineers focus on executing technical tasks and supporting team efforts. Both roles require strong technical skills, but Principal Engineers often have more leadership and strategic responsibilities.

What engineers make $500,000 a year?

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

What does a principal engineer do?

A principal engineer is a senior technical leader responsible for designing complex systems, setting technical standards, and guiding engineering teams. They often have deep expertise in their field, use tools like design documentation and code reviews, and may influence product development strategies. Their role combines technical excellence with leadership to ensure project success.

What engineers make $200,000 a year?

Principal engineers, software engineers, and specialized roles such as data engineers or cloud engineers often earn $200,000 or more annually, especially with extensive experience, advanced skills, and certifications. Compensation varies by industry, location, and company size, with senior-level positions typically offering higher salaries. Expertise in programming, system architecture, and leadership can contribute to reaching this salary level.

What are Principal Engineers?

Principal Engineers are highly experienced technical experts who lead engineering teams, provide strategic technical direction, and help solve complex engineering challenges within an organization. They often act as mentors, set technical standards, and collaborate with stakeholders across departments to drive innovation and ensure the success of engineering projects. Principal Engineers typically have many years of industry experience and are recognized for their deep technical knowledge and leadership skills.

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

To thrive as a Principal Engineer, you need deep technical expertise in your engineering discipline, strong problem-solving abilities, and typically an advanced degree or equivalent experience. Familiarity with complex software development tools, architectural frameworks, and industry certifications like AWS Certified Solutions Architect or relevant PE licenses is common. Exceptional leadership, communication, and mentorship skills help Principal Engineers guide teams and influence project direction. These competencies are essential for driving innovation, ensuring technical excellence, and delivering large-scale, high-impact solutions.

What engineers make $300,000 a year?

Principal engineers, especially in high-demand industries like software, aerospace, and oil and gas, can earn $300,000 or more annually with experience, advanced skills, and often in senior or leadership roles. Compensation may include base salary, bonuses, and stock options, particularly in large tech companies or specialized engineering fields.

How does a Principal Engineer typically collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive project success?

Principal Engineers play a key role in collaborating with cross-functional teams, such as product management, design, and operations, to ensure technical solutions align with business objectives. They often lead architectural discussions, mentor team members, and facilitate communication between engineering and non-engineering stakeholders. This collaboration helps identify potential challenges early, streamline development processes, and deliver high-quality products. Additionally, Principal Engineers are often involved in setting technical standards and guiding teams through complex problem-solving.
What are the most commonly searched types of Principal Engineer jobs in Tennessee? The most popular types of Principal Engineer jobs in Tennessee are:
What job categories do people searching Principal Engineer jobs in Tennessee look for? The top searched job categories for Principal Engineer jobs in Tennessee are:
What cities in Tennessee are hiring for Principal Engineer jobs? Cities in Tennessee with the most Principal Engineer job openings:
What are popular job titles related to Principal Engineer jobs in TN? For Principal Engineer jobs in TN, the most frequently searched job titles are:
Infographic showing various Principal Engineer job openings in Tennessee as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 67% Full Time, and 33% Part Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $133,619 per year, or $64.2 per hour.
Principal Engineer

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Posted 27 days ago


Aristocrat Technologies rating

6.3

Company rating: 6.3 out of 10

Based on 9 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

191st of 230 rated it services


Job description

Are you looking to play a key role in a global gaming company? Are you passionate about producing high quality, robust and maintainable products? Do you thrive in an Agile environment? Are you interested in working on the newest and greatest technology within the gaming industry?
Aristocrat is seeking a Principal Engineer to master and elevate the technical craft of our next-generation gaming platform.
As a Principal Engineer, you will lead technical implementation across teams, design and architect significant initiatives, and provide architectural oversight in partnership with our Architecture team. You will influence technical direction, promote engineering excellence, and ensure alignment between product needs and high-quality technical execution.
This is a hands-on role requiring both deep technical mastery and strong cross-team influence
What You'll Do
  • Lead the design and implementation of complex, high-performance, highly reliable platform features.
  • Provide technical leadership across multiple teams, ensuring alignment to architectural standards and established guidelines.
  • Drive engineering excellence through code reviews, mentoring, and raising quality standards across the organization.
  • Work across a broad range of technologies including graphics systems, networking and protocols, encryption and security, hardware integration, drivers, tools, and SDK standards.
  • Evaluate and introduce new technologies, tools, practices, and process improvements to improve scalability, reliability, and developer productivity and efficiency.
  • Identify and mitigate technical risk across initiatives.
  • Analyze and debug issues.
  • Champion utilization of AI tools (e.g., code assistants, code search, test generators, doc summarizers, static analyzers with AI) to accelerate building, coding, testing, and fixing issues.
  • Establish guidelines/guardrails for AI-assisted code contributions (prompt patterns, review standards, security/compliance).
  • Use AI to mine logs, triage incidents, and propose fixes; generate/maintain architecture docs and ADRs.
  • Evaluate and integrate AI-enabled tooling into the SDLC.

What We're Looking For
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field (or equivalent experience).
  • Technical expert in C# and the .NET ecosystem.
  • 10+ years of commercial software engineering experience, including significant experience designing and delivering large-scale libraries, frameworks, platforms, and/or multi-threaded applications.
  • Demonstrated ability to design and architect new initiatives independently.
  • Deep expertise in multi-threading, eventing, inter-process communication, concurrency, performance tuning, and memory management.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in object-oriented building, architectural patterns, and principles passionate about business logic and structure.
  • Proven experience leading technical implementation across teams.
  • Strong understanding of secure system design, networking, encryption, and hardware/software integration.
  • Experience leading cross-team technical initiatives and influencing engineering standards across an organization.
  • Exceptional analytical, debugging, and root-cause analysis skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to mentor senior engineers and elevate interpersonal technical capability.
  • Demonstrated ability to investigate and evaluate new technologies based on both technical and business needs.
  • Track record of promoting a culture of quality, accountability, and technical integrity.
  • Strong communication and presence - able to influence without formal authority.
  • Experience with continuous integration and automated testing practices.
  • Demonstrated ability to bring to bear AI-assisted development tools to improve efficiency and quality.
  • Promotes responsible and effective adoption of AI technologies within engineering workflows.
  • Casino gaming or related proven experience.
  • Windows or Linux embedded OS experience; cross-platform (Windows/Linux) development.

Why Aristocrat?
Aristocrat is a world leader in gaming content and technology, and a top-tier publisher of free-to-play mobile games. We deliver great performance for our B2B customers and bring joy to the lives of the millions of people who love to play our casino and mobile games. And while we focus on fun, we never forget our responsibilities. We strive to lead the way in responsible gameplay, and to lift the bar in company governance, employee wellbeing and sustainability. We're a diverse business united by shared values and an inspiring mission to bring joy to life through the power of play.
We aim to create an environment where individual differences are valued, and all employees have the opportunity to realize their potential. We welcome and encourage applications from all people regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, cultural background, disability status or LGBTQ+ identity. EEO M/F/D/V
  • World Leader in Gaming Entertainment
  • Robust benefits package
  • Global career opportunities

Our Values
  • All about the Player
  • Talent Unleashed
  • Collective Brilliance
  • Good Business Good Citizen

Travel Expectations
None
Pay Range
$150,000 - 205,000 per year
Our goal is to pay a market competitive salary focusing near the median of our pay ranges. However, final offers for all positions will be based on several factors such as experience level, education, skills, work location, and internal pay equity.
This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, and a 401(k) plan with employer matching, more details available at https://atibenefits.com/.
Additional Information
At this time, we are unable to sponsor work visas for this position. Candidates must be authorized to work in the job posting location for this position on a full-time basis without the need for current or future visa sponsorship.

What Aristocrat Technologies employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom