Principal Automation Engineer Salary
$85.5K - $96.5K
11% of jobs
$105.6K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$96.5K - $107.5K
17% of jobs
The median wage is $114.6K / yr.
$107.5K - $118.5K
35% of jobs
$129.1K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$118.5K - $129.5K
13% of jobs
$129.5K - $140.5K
6% of jobs
$140.5K - $151.5K
2% of jobs
$151.5K - $162.5K
1% of jobs
$162.5K - $173.5K
4% of jobs
$173.5K - $184.5K
4% of jobs
$184.5K - $195.5K
4% of jobs
$195.5K - $206.5K
4% of jobs
$85.5K
$114.5K
$208.5K
$128,153
/year
$61.61
/hour
Principal Automation Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$128,153
Columbus
Ohio
$123,783
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How much does a Principal Automation Engineer make?
As of Aug 21, 2026, the average annual pay for a Principal Automation Engineer in the United States is $128,153 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $61.61 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,464/week or $10,679/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $208,500 and as low as $85,500, the majority of Principal Automation Engineer salaries currently range between $106,000 (25th percentile) to $135,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $192,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Principal Automation Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 29500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Principal Automation Engineer in your area makes on average $123,783 per year, or $4,370 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $128,153. Ohio ranks number 31 out of 50 states nationwide for Principal Automation Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Principal Automation Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Principal Automation Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Principal Automation Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Principal Automation Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Pennington County, SD, , with Berkeley, CA, and Spearfish, SD, close behind in the second and third positions. Spearfish, SD, beats the national average by $26,949 (21.0%), and Pennington County, SD, furthers that trend with another $44,556 (34.8%) above the $128,153 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Principal Automation Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 13% between Pennington County, SD, and Livermore, CA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Principal Automation Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Pennington County, SD | $172,709 | $83.03 |
Berkeley, CA | $156,915 | $75.44 |
Spearfish, SD | $155,102 | $74.57 |
Sitka, AK | $154,383 | $74.22 |
San Francisco, CA | $150,986 | $72.59 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $150,866 | $72.53 |
Palo Alto, CA | $150,646 | $72.43 |
Novato, CA | $150,460 | $72.34 |
Santa Clara, CA | $150,459 | $72.34 |
Livermore, CA | $150,321 | $72.27 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Principal Automation Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Principal Automation Engineer job category, we found that Design Process Engineer jobs have average salaries similar than Principal Automation Engineer jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Design Process Engineer | $97,060 | $46.66 |
Metallurgical Engineer | $94,030 | $45.21 |
Materials And Process Engineer | $92,639 | $44.54 |
Materials Process Engineer | $92,018 | $44.24 |
Chemical Process Technology | $46,693 | $22.45 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
