What principal software engineer roles require at tech companies · 120 roles · 90 days to Oct 16, 2026
Updated
120 principal software engineer roles counted in the window. Browse 4,677 open software postings.
In short
Distributed Systems and Python are required most often, each in 38 of 119 (32%) principal software engineer roles at tech companies whose requirements we read in the 90 days to Oct 16, 2026, then AWS (31) and Azure (24). Among roles that state years, 65 of 96 (68%) ask for at least 10 years. We counted 120 roles.
- Distributed Systems and Python
- 38 of 119 (32%)
- Each required this often, tied for most
- 10+ years
- 65 of 96 (68%)
- Of roles stating years
- Median stated pay
- $232.9k a year
- 73 of 120 (61%) state pay
What the postings ask for
Out of the 119 roles whose requirements we could read, of 120 in all. At most 10 per list, those asked for most. Under each required skill, the same skill in staff roles, out of the 271 whose requirements we could read.
| Skill | Roles asking |
|---|---|
| Distributed Systems | 38 of 119 (32%) Staff: 110 of 271 (41%) |
| Python | 38 of 119 (32%) Staff: 94 of 271 (35%) |
| AWS | 31 of 119 (26%) Staff: 71 of 271 (26%) |
| Azure | 24 of 119 (20%) Staff: not in its top 15 |
| CI/CD | 24 of 119 (20%) Staff: 60 of 271 (22%) |
| AI | 23 of 119 (19%) Staff: 55 of 271 (20%) |
| Kubernetes | 23 of 119 (19%) Staff: 67 of 271 (25%) |
| Go | 22 of 119 (18%) Staff: 64 of 271 (24%) |
| Java | 20 of 119 (17%) Staff: 49 of 271 (18%) |
| GCP | 18 of 119 (15%) Staff: not in its top 15 |
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| Skill | Roles asking |
|---|---|
| CI/CD | 17 of 119 (14%) |
| Docker | 15 of 119 (13%) |
| AI | 12 of 119 (10%) |
| Infrastructure as Code | 12 of 119 (10%) |
| React | 11 of 119 (9%) |
| AWS | 10 of 119 (8%) |
| Kubernetes | 10 of 119 (8%) |
| Machine Learning | 9 of 119 (8%) |
| Observability | 9 of 119 (8%) |
| AI Agents | 8 of 119 (7%) |
Experience
Asked most often: 10+ years, 65 of 96 (68%).
Of the 96 roles that state years
- Under 1 year
- 0 of 96 (0%)
- 1 year
- 1 of 96 (1%)
- 2 years
- 0 of 96 (0%)
- 3–4 years
- 0 of 96 (0%)
- 5–7 years
- 13 of 96 (14%)
- 8–9 years
- 17 of 96 (18%)
- 10+ years
- 65 of 96 (68%)
Degree
17 of 118 (14%) require a degree, and 37 more accept experience instead.
Of the 118 roles we could read for it
- Required
- 17 of 118 (14%)
- Required, or experience instead
- 37 of 118 (31%)
- Preferred
- 8 of 118 (7%)
- Not mentioned
- 56 of 118 (47%)
Pay and remote work
Of the 120 roles we could read for it
- Median stated pay
- $232.9k a year
- Roles stating pay
- 73 of 120 (61%)
- Remote roles
- 70 of 120 (58%)
Questions about principal software engineer roles
Do you need a degree to be a principal software engineer?
How many years of experience do principal software engineer roles ask for?
What skills do principal software engineer roles require most often?
How much do principal software engineer roles pay?
Can principal software engineer roles be remote?
What does "preferred" mean in a posting?
Companies with the most software engineer roles
- Anduril Industries8 roles
- Cohere7 roles
- DoorDash USA7 roles
- Nuro7 roles
- OpenAI7 roles
- Replit7 roles
- Airwallex6 roles
- Cloudflare6 roles
- CoreWeave6 roles
- Databricks6 roles
How we count: 120 roles in the 90 days to Oct 16, 2026, each role counted once however many boards post it. Methodology