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Senior Principal Engineer Jobs in Riverside, CA (NOW HIRING)

Sr. Principal Systems Engineer

Irvine, CA · On-site

$143K - $286K/yr

Sr. Principal Systems Engineer Posting Start Date: 7/27/26 Job Location(s): Irvine If you are looking for a challenging and exciting career in the world of technology, then look no further. Skyworks ...

Principal Robotics Engineer

Irvine, CA · On-site

$180 - $240/hr

Mentor senior and staff engineers, review designs, and grow the technical depth of the organization ... of Principal- or Staff-level technical impact. * Deep expertise in modern C++ and Python, with ...

Principal Robotics Engineer

Irvine, CA · On-site

$210K - $240K/yr

Mentor senior and staff engineers, review designs, and grow the technical depth of the organization ... of Principal- or Staff-level technical impact. * Deep expertise in modern C++ and Python, with ...

Showing results 41-60

Senior Principal Engineer information

See Riverside, CA salary details

$85.5K

$162.2K

$223.8K

How much do senior principal engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 6, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior principal engineer in Riverside, CA is $162,155.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $130,900.00 and $180,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a senior principal engineer?

A Senior Principal Engineer is a highly experienced technical leader who is responsible for guiding the overall engineering direction and strategy within an organization. They typically possess deep expertise in their field, provide mentorship to other engineers, and influence major architectural and technical decisions. Senior Principal Engineers often collaborate with cross-functional teams, ensure best practices are followed, and play a critical role in driving innovation. Their work has a significant impact on the company's products and technical vision.

What does a senior principal engineer do?

Senior Principal Engineers often serve as technical leaders on cross-functional projects, collaborating closely with product managers, architects, and development teams to define technical direction and ensure architectural consistency. They provide deep expertise to solve complex engineering challenges, mentor other engineers, and help align project goals with the organization's strategic vision. Their role frequently involves facilitating communication between different departments and ensuring technical decisions support both immediate project needs and long-term scalability.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior principal engineer?

To excel as a Senior Principal Engineer, you need deep technical expertise in your engineering discipline, advanced problem-solving abilities, and typically a bachelor's or master's degree in engineering or a related field. Proficiency with industry-standard design and simulation software, project management tools, and relevant certifications (such as PMP or PE) are often required. Exceptional leadership, strategic thinking, and strong communication skills distinguish top performers in this role. These competencies are vital for leading complex projects, driving innovation, and effectively guiding engineering teams to achieve organizational goals.

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

AspectSenior Principal EngineerLead Engineer
CredentialsTypically requires a bachelor's or master's degree in engineering, with extensive industry experienceSimilar educational background, often with additional certifications or specialized training
Work EnvironmentFocuses on high-level technical strategy, innovation, and mentorship across projectsLeads specific projects or teams, overseeing technical execution and coordination
Industry UsageCommon in large corporations and R&D settingsFound in both startups and established companies, often in project-based roles

While both roles require strong technical expertise, the Senior Principal Engineer typically focuses on strategic technical leadership and innovation at an organizational level, whereas the Lead Engineer manages project execution and team coordination. The Senior Principal Engineer often operates at a higher, more strategic level within the engineering hierarchy.

What are popular job titles related to Senior Principal Engineer jobs in Riverside, CA?

For Senior Principal Engineer jobs in Riverside, CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Senior Principal Engineer jobs in Riverside, CA look for?

The top searched job categories for Senior Principal Engineer jobs in Riverside, CA are:

What cities near Riverside, CA are hiring for Senior Principal Engineer jobs?

Cities near Riverside, CA with the most Senior Principal Engineer job openings:

Infographic showing various Senior Principal Engineer job openings in Riverside, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 88% Full Time, 5% Part Time, and 7% Contract. Highlights an 85% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $162,155 per year, or $78 per hour.

Principal Engineer, Agentic AI Data and Insights

Google

Irvine, CA • On-site

$144K - $194K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 19 days ago


Google rating

8.8

Company rating: 8.8 out of 10

Based on 103 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

48th of 247 rated software companies


Job description

info_outline
X Applicants in the County of Los Angeles: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Irvine, CA, USA; San Jose, CA, USA.
Minimum qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field or equivalent practical experience.
  • 15 years of experience in software engineering.
  • Experience designing, building, and maintaining large-scale distributed systems.
  • Experience serving as a senior technical leader (e.g., principal engineer, senior staff engineer, or equivalent) overseeing portfolios and multiple engineering teams.
  • Experience in architectural design and systems integration for multi-stakeholder, enterprise-grade platforms.

Preferred qualifications:
  • Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Computer Engineering, or a related highly technical field.
  • Experience with modern data technologies, distributed computing frameworks, or open-source data lakehouse standards (e.g., Iceberg, Spark, or equivalent).
  • Experience building high-quality, compelling developer tools or standardized component ecosystems that teams voluntarily adopt.
  • Knowledge of agentic harnesses, large language models, agentic AI workflows (such as sub-agent configuration, skills, and RAG systems), and developer ecosystems.
  • Extensive technical domain expertise in large-scale data analysis, database systems, or Business Intelligence (BI).
  • Proven track record of working with large-scale, unstructured, and "messy" data ecosystems at scale.

About the job
The Insights organization within Google Core builds and operates the foundational data analysis platforms and languages used across the entire company. Our portfolio covers a wide range of deep, complex technical topics that affect every part of Google, including all of Google's primary business intelligence and exploratory analysis platform, GoogleSQL, and the core services and libraries that power Google's largest data processing systems. We are focused on driving the technical strategy for how Google uses agentic infrastructure to drive analysis, with the potential to effect transformative change across almost every part of Google-from pure data analysts and GDM to engineers, POps, and executives.
As a Principal Engineer for the newly formed Insights pillar, you will serve as the organization's primary technical authority for agentic data analysis. Partnering with the Director and other senior technical leaders across Core, Cloud, and GDM, you will shape the long-term technical vision and strategy for how Google uses agentic infrastructure to drive analysis and insight generation.
In this role, you will provide technical guidance across the Insights organization and lead the development of agentic tools and foundational technologies for Google-wide languages, APIs, and systems. You will act as the technical connective tissue across Google, bridging the gap between internal specialized systems and external standards (e.g., standard ANSI SQL).
The Core team builds the technical foundation behind Google's flagship products. We are owners and advocates for the underlying design elements, developer platforms, product components, and infrastructure at Google. These are the essential building blocks for excellent, safe, and coherent experiences for our users and drive the pace of innovation for every developer. We look across Google's products to build central solutions, break down technical barriers and strengthen existing systems. As the Core team, we have a mandate and a unique opportunity to impact important technical decisions across the company.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
US: $307000 - $428000 (USD) 30% bonus target equity benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google .
Responsibilities
  • Redefine data analysis architecture. Design a shared component ecosystem (skills, sub-agents, RAG systems, embeddable UIs) across harnesses (Plx, Cloud, Jetski).
  • Guide Core, Cloud, and GDM teams. Resolve complex disputes and ensure enterprise-wide coherence, bridging internal systems with external cloud standards.
  • Act as Insights' unifying technical liaison, collaborating with VPs and senior ICs to establish common infrastructure.
  • Bridge technical gaps, specifically translating cloud-generated ANSI SQL into the specialized Google SQL required internally.
  • Align senior ICs and disparate in-flight efforts to work on the highest-impact data analysis problems. Mentor staff/senior staff engineers. Lead the cultural transition from traditional software engineering to AI-orchestrated development models.

Information collected and processed as part of your Google Careers profile, and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Google's Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy .
Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy , Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal , Belonging at Google , and How we hire .
If you have a need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form .
Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.
To all recruitment agencies: Google does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Google employees, or any other organization location. Google is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.

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