Principal Design Engineer Salary
$74K - $86.5K
4% of jobs
$86.5K - $99K
8% of jobs
$99K - $111.5K
9% of jobs
$116.6K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$111.5K - $124K
10% of jobs
$124K - $136.5K
10% of jobs
The median wage is $145.4K / yr.
$136.5K - $149K
13% of jobs
$149K - $161.5K
12% of jobs
$169.3K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$161.5K - $174K
14% of jobs
$174K - $186.5K
10% of jobs
$186.5K - $199K
6% of jobs
$199K - $211.5K
3% of jobs
$74K
$147.5K
$212.5K
$147,220
/year
$70.78
/hour
Principal Design Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$147,220
Columbus
Ohio
$142,200
Do you get a good deal as a Principal Design Engineer?
Take The Breakroom Quiz to find out if your job offers fair pay and conditions. The 3-minute quiz lets you compare your pay, hours, benefits, and more.
Take The Breakroom Quiz
How much does a Principal Design Engineer make?
As of Aug 8, 2026, the average annual pay for a Principal Design Engineer in the United States is $147,220 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $70.78 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,831/week or $12,268/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $212,500 and as low as $74,000, the majority of Principal Design Engineer salaries currently range between $118,500 (25th percentile) to $173,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $196,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Principal Design Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 54500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Principal Design Engineer in your area makes on average $142,200 per year, or $5,020 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $147,220. Ohio ranks number 40 out of 50 states nationwide for Principal Design Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Principal Design 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 Design Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Principal Design Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Principal Design Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Barrow, AK, , with Nome, AK, and Berkeley, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Berkeley, CA, beats the national average by $33,042 (22.4%), and Barrow, AK, furthers that trend with another $36,182 (24.6%) above the $147,220 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Principal Design Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 4% between Barrow, AK, and Haines Junction, YT, , 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 Design Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Barrow, AK | $183,402 | $88.17 |
Nome, AK | $182,626 | $87.80 |
Berkeley, CA | $180,262 | $86.66 |
Berlin Corners, VT | $179,934 | $86.51 |
Kentville, NS | $177,410 | $85.29 |
Sitka, AK | $177,353 | $85.27 |
Whitehorse, YT | $176,282 | $84.75 |
Carcross, YT | $176,179 | $84.70 |
Wyoming, WY | $175,578 | $84.41 |
Haines Junction, YT | $175,577 | $84.41 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Principal Design Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Principal Design Engineer category.
For example Principal Process Safety Engineer jobs pay as much as $2,862 (1.9%) more than the average Principal Design Engineer salary of $147,220. If you're qualified, finding work as a Principal Process Safety Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Principal Design Engineer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Principal Process Safety Engineer | $150,082 | $72.15 |
Principal Infrastructure Engineer | $149,214 | $71.74 |
Principal Application Engineer | $110,698 | $53.22 |
Master Biomedical Engineering | $94,807 | $45.58 |
Rag Engineer | $90,511 | $43.51 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
