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Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Madison, WI (NOW HIRING)

Principal Software Engineer

Madison, WI · On-site

$136K - $182.40K/yr

Position Overview The Principal Software Engineer is a senior Individual Contributor and cross-cutting technical authority within our product-led IT Software Engineering team, focused on Digital ...

Principal Software Engineer

Madison, WI

$136K - $182.40K/yr

Position Overview The Principal Software Engineer is a senior Individual Contributor and cross-cutting technical authority within our product-led IT Software Engineering team, focused on Digital ...

Principal Software Engineer

Madison, WI · On-site

$136K - $182.40K/yr

Position Overview The Principal Software Engineer is a senior Individual Contributor and cross-cutting technical authority within our product-led IT Software Engineering team, focused on Digital ...

The Software Engineer is an individual contributor within a team, responsible for analysis, design, programming, testing, documentation, and deployment of software for data and user interface ...

The Software Engineer is an individual contributor within a team, responsible for analysis, design, programming, testing, documentation, and deployment of software for data and user interface ...

Software Engineer

Madison, WI · On-site

$120K - $165K/yr

Robert Half is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join a highly technical product development team based in Madison, WI. The role will focus on building advanced desktop applications used for ...

Software Eng/Developer III Job Summary: The Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC) is a scientific center within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of ...

Software Eng/Developer III Job Summary: The Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC) is a scientific center within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of ...

Software Development Engineer Give hope. Give health. Make your mark in the fight against cancer. At Accuray, we make a direct and powerful impact on the lives of cancer patients every day -- helping ...

We are looking for Software Engineers to join our R&D team. If you have a Technical Bachelor's degree preferably in Computer Science or Computer Engineering, a passion for creativity, and to work on ...

Senior Software Engineer

Madison, WI

$123.50K - $162.80K/yr

The Senior Software Engineer acts as a recognized technical expert and a reference for complex software components. The Senior Software Engineer contributes through deep technical expertise, handson ...

Software Development Engineer Give hope. Give health. Make your mark in the fight against cancer. At Accuray, we make a direct and powerful impact on the lives of cancer patients every day -- helping ...

We are looking for Software Engineers to join our R&D team. If you have a Technical Bachelor's degree preferably in Computer Science or Computer Engineering, a passion for creativity, and to work on ...

Contribute to sustaining engineering by troubleshooting, participating in root-cause analysis, and resolving issues found in new or existing functionality. Software Design & Architecture (Make the ...

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Showing results 1-20

Principal Software Engineer information

See Madison, WI salary details

$61K

$162.2K

$232.8K

How much do principal software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of May 28, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal software engineer in Madison, WI is $162,188.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $136,000.00 and $182,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What Is Principal Software Engineer?

A principal software engineer is in charge of software development. In this career, you guide the software design process and inspect software programs to make suggestions for improvements. Principal software engineers also process complex data and may need to enforce software design, development, and maintenance requirements. Your job requires a high level of technical knowledge and skills and a thorough understanding of the software development process. Your employer may require you to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in software development. Similar job titles include software architect and principal software developer.

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

To thrive as a Principal Software Engineer, you need deep expertise in software architecture, programming languages, and system design, often supported by a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science or a related field. Advanced proficiency with development frameworks, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure), and familiarity with DevOps tools and agile methodologies are typically required. Exceptional leadership, mentorship, and communication skills help facilitate cross-functional collaboration and guide technical teams. These skills are crucial for driving technical vision, ensuring scalable solutions, and fostering innovation within complex projects.

How does a Principal Software Engineer typically balance hands-on coding with leadership responsibilities?

Principal Software Engineers often split their time between technical contributions—such as designing system architecture and reviewing complex code—and guiding teams through mentorship, technical direction, and cross-functional collaboration. While they may not code as much as junior engineers, they remain highly involved in critical implementations and code reviews. Balancing these responsibilities requires strong time management, clear communication, and the ability to prioritize tasks that have the highest impact on project and team success.

What are Principal Software Engineers?

Principal Software Engineers are highly experienced technical leaders responsible for designing, developing, and overseeing complex software systems. They set technical direction, mentor engineering teams, and often collaborate with stakeholders to align technology solutions with business goals. In addition to coding, they play a key role in establishing best practices, reviewing architectural decisions, and ensuring high-quality software delivery. Their expertise and leadership are critical in driving innovation and maintaining technical excellence within an organization.

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

AspectPrincipal Software EngineerSenior Software Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in CS or related field; extensive experienceBachelor's or Master's in CS; several years of experience
Work EnvironmentLeadership roles, strategic planning, cross-team collaborationDesign, develop, and troubleshoot software; mentorship
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, large enterprises, startupsMost industries, including tech, finance, healthcare

The main difference between a Principal Software Engineer and a Senior Software Engineer lies in their level of responsibility and scope. Principal Software Engineers typically lead technical strategy, influence architecture decisions, and mentor multiple teams, whereas Senior Software Engineers focus on coding, design, and individual project contributions. Both roles require strong technical skills, but the Principal role emphasizes leadership and strategic impact.

What are popular job titles related to Principal Software Engineer jobs in Madison, WI? For Principal Software Engineer jobs in Madison, WI, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Principal Software Engineer jobs in Madison, WI look for? The top searched job categories for Principal Software Engineer jobs in Madison, WI are:
Infographic showing various Principal Software Engineer job openings in Madison, WI as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 86% Full Time, 12% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 9% Hybrid, and 4% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $162,188 per year, or $78 per hour.

Principal Software Engineer

Exactsciences

Madison, WI • On-site

$136K - $182.40K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Posted 22 days ago


Job description

Help us change lives

At Exact Sciences, we're helpingchange how the world prevents, detects and guides treatment for cancer. We give patients and clinicians the clarity needed to make confident decisions when they matter most. Join our team to find a purpose-driven career, an inclusive culture, and robust benefits to support your life while you're working to help others.

Position Overview

The Principal Software Engineer is a senior Individual Contributor and cross-cutting technical authority within our product-led IT Software Engineering team, focused on Digital Engineering and Integrations. This team owns the customer-facing portals that serve patients, providers, and payers, along with the integrations that power them. Reporting directly to the Senior Director of Software Engineering, this role is less about managing work and more about elevating it, serving as a thought partner to Engineering Leaders, shaping architecture decisions, and raising the bar for how we build across all squads.

We are looking for someone who hasoperatedattrueenterprise scale and knows what it takes to make complex systems reliable, secure, and built to last. This person will challenge technical assumptions, champion non-functional requirements like performance, availability, and observability as first-class concerns, help ensure our engineering decisions support a consistent and scalable UX design system, and guide the team through meaningful architectural evolution, including scaling our platforms for international growth and applying modern team design principles to clarify ownership, reduce dependencies, and reduce friction across our portfolio.

Just as important as the technical depth is how this person shows up. The ideal candidate is a deep collaborator, someone who earns trust by embedding with teams, listens before they lead, and drives meaningful change by bringing people along with them.

This role is based in Madison, Wisconsin.

Essential Duties

Include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Apply expert knowledge, skills, and practices to diverse programs and complex initiatives demonstrating creativity and mastery of specialized techniques, processes, procedures. Exercise independent judgment in methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining results.
  • Troubleshoot, debug, and diagnose issues of high complexity for major software platforms.
  • Provide guidance to engineers and technical expertise and coaching to product team.
  • Design lasting platforms in collaboration with product teams on large scale business or technology project(s).
  • Drive the quality of platforms and organizational practices that impact and influence the department's delivery and approach.
  • Contribute, interpret, and communicate enterprise, technical, project, and operational strategies, taking into account company dynamics.
  • Build successful internal partnerships with IT leadership, peers, SMEs, stakeholders, and decision-makers. Manage vendor and external partnerships.
  • Work on projects of high complexity with multiple business units, ongoing acquisition integration activity, or large cross-functional program implementations.
  • Exercise independent judgment in methods, techniques and evaluation criteria that affect schedules, operations, and functional activities.
  • Ability to work nights and/or weekends, as needed.
  • Uphold company mission and values through accountability, innovation, integrity, quality, and teamwork.
  • Support and comply with the company's Quality Management System policies and procedures.
  • Maintain regular and reliable attendance.
  • Ability to act with an inclusion mindset and model these behaviors for the organization.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, Mathematics, or Engineering; or High School Diploma/General Education Degree and 12 years of relevant experience as outlined in the essential duties in lieu of Bachelor's Degree.
  • Expert in 1 or more object-oriented programming languages.
  • RESTful web services, Relational Databases (Postgres, SQL Server), and ORM technologies (JPA2, Hibernate, Entities Framework).
  • Designing and developing apps that access and or utilize cloud-based frameworks (e.g., Azure, Amazon AWS Services/SDKs, etc.).
  • Agile development tools; including, but not limited to, JIRA, Confluence repository.
  • Programming languages such as C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python, SQL, PL/SQL, .NET, Google Web Toolkit.
  • Demonstrated ability to perform the essential duties of the position with or without accommodation.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Demonstrated experience assessing and designing systems for international scale, including data residency, localization, latency, and regulatory variance across multiple regions.
  • Experience defining and championing non-functional requirements (NFRs) such as performance, scalability, availability, observability, and security as first-class engineering concerns across multiple teams.
  • Experience leading or contributing to team design and domain ownership efforts, including service decomposition and establishing clear boundaries in complex enterprise environments.
  • Expertise with integration architecture patterns including HL7, FHIR, middleware technologies, and event-driven platforms such as Kafka.
  • Familiarity with UX design systems and the engineering practices that support consistent, scalable user experiences in a product-led organization.
  • Experience in healthcare, life sciences or other internationally regulated industries.
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Salary Range:

$153,000.00 - $259,000.00

The annual base salary shown is for this position located in US - WI - Madison on a full-time basis. In addition, this position is bonus eligible.

Exact Sciences is proud to offer an employee experience that includes paid time off (including days for vacation, holidays, volunteering, and personal time), paid leave for parents and caregivers, a retirement savings plan, wellness support, and health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage. Learn more about our benefits.

Our success relies on the experiences and perspectives of a diverse team, and Exact Sciences fosters a culture where all employees can develop personally and professionally with a sense of respect and belonging. If you require an accommodation, please contact us here.

Not ready to apply? Join our Talent Community to stay updated on the latest news and opportunities at Exact Sciences.

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, protected veteran status, and any other status protected by applicable local, state, or federal law.

To view the Right to Work, E-Verify Employer, and Pay Transparency notices and Federal, Federal Contractor, and State employment law posters, visit our compliance hub. The documents summarize important details of the law and provide key points that you have a right to know.