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Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Redmond, WA (NOW HIRING)

Protingent

Principal Software Engineer

Redmond, WA · On-site

$155 - $215/hr

Principal Software Engineer Protingent Staffing has an exciting direct-hire opportunity for a Principal Software Engineer. Responsibilities * Elevate the technical judgment of engineers through ...

Nordstrom, Inc.

Principal Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$191 - $297/hr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Principal Software Engineer** to join our Inventory Technology team. Inventory is Nordstrom's biggest investment and the productive use of it is critical to the company's success. Our team is ...

Protingent

Principal Software Engineer

Redmond, WA · On-site

$155K - $215K/yr

Principal Software Engineer Position Description: Protingent Staffing has an exciting direct-hire opportunity for a Principal Software Engineer. Job Responsibilities: • Elevate the technical ...

Oracle

Principal Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$153K - $206K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

We are looking for a Principal Software Development Engineer (IC4) who operates as an AI native builder. This is not a traditional software engineering role centered on manual coding. Engineers on ...

100 Salesforce, Inc.

Principal Software Engineer

Bellevue, WA · On-site

$197.30 - $313.70/hr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

Principal Software Engineer (PMTS) - Tableau Agent Analytics Salesforce is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join the Tableau Agent Analytics Agentforce Process Intelligence team. In this role ...

New

Nordstrom, Inc.

Principal Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$191K - $297K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

As a Principal Software Engineer , you will play a crucial role in building technology to improve the way we move, track and optimize our inventory. As a key member of our Inventory technology ...

Nordstrom

Principal Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$191K - $297K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

As a Principal Software Engineer , you will play a crucial role in building technology to improve the way we move, track and optimize our inventory. As a key member of our Inventory technology ...

Microsoft AI

Principal Software Engineer

Redmond, WA · On-site

$151K - $202K/yr

Microsoft AI is seeking a Principal Software Engineer for their Edge Web Platform team, which builds foundational technologies for web and AI-powered computing. The role involves shaping web platform ...

MediaAlpha

Principal Software Engineer

Bellevue, WA · Hybrid

$152K - $204K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Hybrid role: 3 days/week in office Role Overview As a Principal Software Engineer at MediaAlpha, you will be a technical leader accountable at the ecosystem level. You own the architecture, health ...

MediaAlpha

Principal Software Engineer

Bellevue, WA · On-site

$152K - $204K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Hybrid role: 3 days/week in office Role Overview As a Principal Software Engineer at MediaAlpha, you will be a technical leader accountable at the ecosystem level. You own the architecture, health ...

Microsoft AI

Principal Software Engineer

Redmond, WA · On-site

$151K - $202K/yr

The Principal Software Engineer will lead efforts to improve performance outcomes for Microsoft Edge, ensuring it remains fast and reliable for users while driving architectural changes and ...

Microsoft

Principal Software Engineer

Redmond, WA · On-site

$151K - $202K/yr

As a Principal Software Engineer, you'll drive projects from concept to delivery, influence technical decisions across multiple teams, and collaborate with engineering, product, design, and applied ...

Gradial

Principal Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$160K - $250K/yr

The Role Gradial is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to drive the architecture and technical vision behind AI-native systems that transform how creative teams build and update websites. As a ...

Microsoft

Principal Software Engineer

Redmond, WA · On-site

$151K - $202K/yr

The CSA team is seeking a Principal Software Engineer who could be part of the team to develop hardware/software co-design, software prototyping, and building reference designs to enable pathfinding ...

UKG, Inc.

Principal Software Engineer- Eng

Seattle, WA · On-site

$153K - $206K/yr

Principal Software Engineer-ENG: This Principal Software Engineer- Eng role serves as a technical authority and architectural leader for UKG's Pro Foundation team, which owns HCM-level platform ...

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Showing results 1-20

All JobsPrincipal Software Engineer JobsPrincipal Software Engineer Jobs in Redmond, WA

Principal Software Engineer information

See Redmond, WA salary details

$67.8K

$180.2K

$258.7K

How much do principal software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 19, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal software engineer in Redmond, WA is $180,241.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $151,200.00 and $202,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a 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 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.

How much does a principal software engineer get paid?

A principal software engineer typically earns between $120,000 and $180,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and company size. They often have advanced skills in software architecture, leadership, and technical expertise in programming languages and tools.
More about Principal Software Engineer jobs

What are popular job titles related to Principal Software Engineer jobs in Redmond, WA?

For Principal Software Engineer jobs in Redmond, WA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Principal Software Engineer jobs in Redmond, WA look for?

The top searched job categories for Principal Software Engineer jobs in Redmond, WA are:

What cities near Redmond, WA are hiring for Principal Software Engineer jobs?

Cities near Redmond, WA with the most Principal Software Engineer job openings:

Principal Software Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Principal Software Engineer job openings in Redmond, WA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 79% In-person, and 21% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $180,241 per year, or $86.7 per hour.

Principal Software Engineer

Protingent

Redmond, WA • On-site

$155 - $215/hr

Other

Re-posted 26 days ago

Job description

Principal Software Engineer

Protingent Staffing has an exciting direct-hire opportunity for a Principal Software Engineer.

Responsibilities
  • Elevate the technical judgment of engineers through design reviews, architectural guidance, and mentorship.
  • Troubleshoot and drive resolution of the hardest cross-system problems in our stack.
  • Participate in on‑call rotation to ensure system reliability and rapid issue resolution.
  • Engage directly with product and executive stakeholders to assess feasibility, cost, and risk of strategic initiatives.
  • Drive architectural decisions and technical direction across multiple teams and systems.
  • Directly build and ship software that tackles the hardest, most ambiguous technical problems in our stack.
  • Set the engineering standard through your own code, design patterns, and technical approach.
  • Own cross‑cutting concerns: scalability, reliability, security posture, and cloud cost efficiency.
  • Identify converging efforts across teams and consolidate before they become compounding tech debt.
  • Design and evolve system architectures for our B2B portals, collaboration tools, internal platforms, and customer‑facing APIs.
  • Evaluate build‑vs‑buy decisions, technology bets, and system design tradeoffs with direct business impact.
Qualifications
  • 10+ years of software development experience, progressing from shipping great software to shaping organizational software development approaches.
  • Deep architectural experience designing systems that span multiple services, teams, or domains.
  • Exceptional hands‑on engineering skills across the full stack, with the ability to go deep on the hardest problems in any part of the system.
  • Strong proficiency across multiple languages and comfortable ramping quickly on ones you haven't used before. Stack includes Go, TypeScript, C#, and React.
  • Proven ability to own the full software development lifecycle, from requirements and design through construction, testing, deployment, and production operations.
  • Experience with cloud architecture and resource‑efficient infrastructure design at scale.
  • Full ownership mentality that extends beyond your own code to the health of systems, culture, and teams around you.
  • Strong understanding of SQL databases, caching layers, event‑driven architectures, and data pipeline design.
  • Pragmatic technical judgment that optimizes for the right solution given real constraints, not the theoretically perfect one.
  • Track record of driving technical alignment across teams with competing priorities.
  • Enthusiasm for leveraging AI‑assisted development tools and emerging technologies.
  • Ability to translate between business language and technical language fluently, in both directions.
  • Must have permission to work in the US on a permanent basis.
Preferred Experience
  • Experience with healthcare data standards (HL7, FHIR) or regulated industry environments.
  • Experience with GraphQL, event‑driven data pipelines, or healthcare integration patterns (EHR, PMS, PBM).
  • Advanced DevOps and platform engineering experience including Infrastructure as Code, containerization, and observability at scale.
Job Details
  • Job Type: Direct Placement
  • Salary Range: $155,000 – $215,000
  • Location: Redmond, WA / Remote
  • Must be a US Citizen or Green Card holder.
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