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Principal Software Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Principal Software Engineer

Dallas, TX · On-site

$133K - $179K/yr

The Principal Software Engineer will leverage deep technical expertise and passion for building high-quality applications to drive architectural decisions, mentor engineers, and influence product ...

VTG

Principal Software Engineer

Hanover, MD · On-site

$200K - $275K/yr

The Principal Software Engineer will design, develop, integrate, test, and maintain enterprise software solutions that interface with embedded devices and vendor-provided Software Development Kits ...

Bigbear.ai

Principal Software Engineer

Columbia, MD · On-site

$151K - $227K/yr

Overview BigBear.ai is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to support the exciting Advanced Analytics Team mission. Engineer will work closely with mission stakeholders to analyze software ...

SlyFox Solutions LLC

Principal Software Engineer

Woodbine, MD · On-site

$148K - $198K/yr

The Principal Software Engineer will drive the company's technical vision and provide strategic guidance to the software development team. This senior role is for an individual with deep industry ...

KBR

Principal Software Engineer

El Segundo, CA · On-site +1

$143K - $192K/yr

Principal Software Engineer Belong. Connect. Grow. with KBR! KBR is seeking an experienced Principal Software Engineer to support the MSEIT contract at Space Systems Command (SSC). This role combines ...

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Principal Software Engineer information

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$60.5K

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How much do principal software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 5, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal software engineer in the United States is $160,936.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $135,000.00 and $181,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

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 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.

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 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.

How much does a principal software engineer get paid?

A principal software engineer typically earns between $120,000 and $180,000 annually in the United States, with salaries varying based on experience, location, and company size. They often have advanced skills in software architecture, leadership, and technical expertise in programming languages and tools.
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Principal Software Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Principal Software Engineer job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 96% Full Time, 1% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $160,936 per year, or $77.4 per hour.

Principal Software Engineer

eGain Corporation

Sunnyvale, CA • On-site

$200K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 11 days ago

Job description

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eGain (NASDAQ: EGAN) is the global leader in AI knowledge management platforms for enterprise customer engagement. Trusted by the world's most customer-centric companies, eGain's platform combines the power of generative AI with structured, curated enterprise knowledge to deliver accurate, consistent, and compliant answers across every customer touchpoint.
eGain's customer base is anchored in large enterprises. Our AI Knowledge Hub, AI Agent, Composer, and Evaluator products are deployed in mission-critical environments where accuracy, governance, and scale are non-negotiable. The Principal Software Engineer role exists to help us continue raising the engineering bar on those products - and to lead the way in how we build software in the AI era.
The Opportunity
Software engineering is undergoing the largest shift in a generation. AI coding assistants, agent-based development workflows, and automated testing and review tools are changing how the best teams design, build, ship, and support production systems. eGain is investing decisively in that future - both in the AI products we sell and in how we engineer them.
This role exists to anchor that investment on the engineering side. As a Principal Software Engineer in our Engineering team, you will architect and build AI-powered services that ship to some of the world's largest enterprises, set the technical patterns the rest of the org builds on, and lead the adoption of AI-assisted development workflows across the team. It is a hands-on senior individual contributor role with broad technical influence
What You Will Do
Technical Leadership & Architecture
  • Own the end-to-end design of AI-powered software tools, services, and applications across the eGain product portfolio
  • Define the API, caching, and microservice patterns that the broader engineering organization builds on
  • Lead architecture and design reviews for high-impact features and subsystems, balancing customer urgency with long-term maintainability
Hands-On Engineering
  • Participate hands-on in coding, debugging, performance optimization, and production issue resolution
  • Own the quality, performance, and reliability of the application surfaces you build - including on-call support and root-cause analysis for critical issues
AI-Powered Engineering Practices
  • Leverage AI-powered engineering tools, coding assistants, and agent-based development workflows across the full software lifecycle - development, testing, debugging, code reviews, and documentation generation
  • Identify, evaluate, and roll out open-source and AI-assisted tooling that meaningfully improves engineering productivity and software quality
  • Establish guardrails, evaluation practices, and review standards for AI-assisted code so we move fast without compromising on quality or security
Team Impact & Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Mentor Senior and Software Engineer II-level engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and pairing
  • Partner with cross-functional teams to deliver features from concept through release
  • Represent Engineering in cross-functional forums, enterprise architecture discussions, and customer escalations
What You Bring
  • Master's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field from a top-tier university
  • 7 to 10 years of hands-on software engineering experience building modern, large-scale distributed applications with cloud-native architecture
  • Strong experience with microservices architecture, APIs, caching technologies, and scalable application design
  • 3 to 5 years of experience using open-source, AI-assisted engineering tools and development workflows in real-world, production-scale environments
  • Demonstrated track record of leading complex technical work end-to-end and influencing peers without formal authority
  • Production ownership experience - you have been on-call for systems you designed and you understand what it takes to run them reliably
Why eGain
  • Market leadership in AI knowledge management - a category that is mission-critical for the world's largest enterprises navigating AI adoption
  • AI at enterprise scale - your code will ship to Fortune 500 customers in regulated industries, not lab demos
  • Engineering culture that takes craft seriously - clean architecture, thoughtful reviews, and AI-assisted workflows as a first-class part of how we work
  • Senior IC seat with direct line to engineering leadership and meaningful influence on technical direction
  • Profitable, publicly traded SaaS company (NASDAQ: EGAN) with the AI ambition of a startup and the engineering discipline of a company that has been doing this for two decades
Our Hiring Process is "Easy with eGain"
Step 1
Written test
  • Aptitude section - this is a GRE style test (60 minutes or less)
  • Functional section - this is a take-home test

Step 2
Panel interview (in-person at eGain Sunnyvale office)
Next step
Email your resumé to [email protected] with the position title "Principal Software Engineer" in the email subject.
Compensation
  • The salary is $200,000 per year.
  • Stock options.

Please note that the compensation package can vary based on the candidate's qualifications and experience level.

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