As of April 22, 2025, the average annual salary for a Principal Software Engineer in the United Kingdom is £69,867, with an hourly rate of £34, according to Salary.com Global Salary IQ data. The average salary ranges from £62,512 to £76,879, influenced by factors like location, education, experience, and more.

Global Market Data
25TH   £62,512
50TH(Median)   £69,867
75TH   £76,879
Principal Software Engineer Salaries by Percentile
Percentile Salary Location Last Updated
25th Percentile Principal Software Engineer Salary £62,512 United Kingdom April 22, 2025
50th Percentile Principal Software Engineer Salary £69,867 United Kingdom April 22, 2025
75th Percentile Principal Software Engineer Salary £76,879 United Kingdom April 22, 2025

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How Much Does a Principal Software Engineer Make by Hour, Week, Month, and Year?

Last Updated on April 22, 2025

Salary.com provides you with accurate and diversified Principal Software Engineer salary data based on specialized databases to help you get a fairer salary. The average annual pay for a Principal Software Engineer is about £69,867 a year, this translates to an approximate hourly rate of £34, a monthly salary of about £5,822, and a weekly pay of around £1,344. Click the switch button below to see more details about Principal Software Engineer hourly pay, weekly pay, monthly pay, and so on.

How Much Do Principal Software Engineers Earn at Different Levels in 2025?

A Principal Software Engineer's salary varies significantly based on experience level. Entry typically earn £63,500 - £68,001, while Intermediate make £64,159 - £68,550, Senior earn £65,366 - £69,647, Specialist earn £69,318 - £73,321, Expert can reach £71,123 - £75,309 or more, depending on the company and location.

Levels Salary
Entry Level Principal Software Engineer £66,574
Intermediate Level Principal Software Engineer £67,123
Senior Level Principal Software Engineer £68,220
Specialist Level Principal Software Engineer £71,960
Expert Level Principal Software Engineer £73,844
£66,574 0 yr
£67,123 < 2 yrs
£68,220 2-4 yrs
£71,960 5-8 yrs
£73,844 > 8 yrs
Entry Level 5%
Intermediate Level 4%
Senior Level 2%
Specialist Level 3%
Expert Level 6%
View as Table
View as Graph
Last Updated on April 22, 2025

Skills to Boost a Principal Software Engineer Salary

Mastering key skills can significantly increase your earning potential as a Principal Software Engineer. According to Salary.com's Real-time Job Posting Data, expertise in Analysis can lead to a 3% salary raise, while strong Software Development skills boost pay by a 5%. Even Software Engineering can result in a 3% salary increase.

Skill Library evaluates talent skills across five levels, supported by 5-10 behavior indicators, delivering precise insights for data-driven hiring decisions.
Analysis
Analysis is the process of considering something carefully or using statistical methods in order to understand it or explain it.
Software Development
Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development is a process of writing and maintaining the source code, but in a broader sense, it includes all that is involved between the conception of the desired software through to the final manifestation of the software, sometimes in a planned and structured process. Therefore, software development may include research, new development, prototyping, modification, reuse, re-engineering, maintenance, or any other activities that result in software products. Software can be developed for a variety of purposes, the three most common being to meet specific needs of a specific client/business (the case with custom software), to meet a perceived need of some set of potential users (the case with commercial and open source software), or for personal use (e.g. a scientist may write software to automate a mundane task). Embedded software development, that is, the development of embedded software, such as used for controlling consumer products, requires the development process to be integrated with the development of the controlled physical product. System software underlies applications and the programming process itself, and is often developed separately.
Software Engineering
Software engineering is the application of engineering to the development of software in a systematic method. Notable definitions of software engineering include: "the systematic application of scientific and technological knowledge, methods, and experience to the design, implementation, testing, and documentation of software"—The Bureau of Labor Statistics—IEEE Systems and software engineering - Vocabulary "The application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software"—IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology "an engineering discipline that is concerned with all aspects of software production"—Ian Sommerville "the establishment and use of sound engineering principles in order to economically obtain software that is reliable and works efficiently on real machines"—Fritz Bauer
More Skills...
Based on recent job listings, in-demand skills in the Principal Software Engineer field include Analysis (3%), Software Development (5%), Software Engineering (3%), and Kubernetes (3%). These skills reflect current market needs.
Skills Salary Demand
Skill & Salary Demand
Analysis £71,963
Analysis
£71,963
3%
Software Development £73,360
Software Development
£73,360
5%
Software Engineering £71,963
Software Engineering
£71,963
3%
Kubernetes £71,963
Kubernetes
£71,963
3%
Analysis
6.83%
Software Development
3.80%
Software Engineering
0.91%
Kubernetes
7.30%

What are the Highest Paying Cities in the United Kingdom for Principal Software Engineer?

The top 3 highest-paying cities in the United Kingdom for Principal Software Engineer are London, Brighton and Hove, and Manchester. In London, the average salary is £75,456 per year, while Brighton and Hove offers £70,386, and Manchester pays around £66,971 annually.

Which Job Pays More: Principal Electrical Engineer or Principal Software Engineer?

As of April 22, 2025 , a Principal Electrical Engineer makes less than a Principal Software Engineer. A Principal Electrical Engineer earns an average annual salary of £48,745. And a Principal Software Engineer earns an average annual salary of £69,867.

Job Title Salary Range in GBP
Principal Electrical Engineer
£36,661
£59,298
Principal Mechanical Engineer
£39,081
£60,016
Principal Systems Engineer
£57,473
£102,756
Software Engineer III
£40,050
£59,913

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Frequently Asked Questions about Principal Software Engineer Salaries

1. How much does a principal software engineer make in the UK?

The estimated total pay for a Principal Software Engineer is £83,237 per year, with an average salary of £73,876 per year. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users.

2. What is the highest salary of software engineer in UK?

The highest salary for a Software Engineer in United Kingdom is £77,646 per year. The lowest salary for a Software Engineer in United Kingdom is £39,616 per year.

3. What is the salary of principal software engineer?

On average, Principal Software Engineer salaries ranges from ₹13.1 Lakhs to ₹53.0 Lakhs per year. Top companies and specialized roles may offer higher compensation. The average starting salary is around ₹13.1 Lakhs to ₹53.0 Lakhs per year, with the highest salary reaching ₹43.8 Lakhs to ₹120.0 Lakhs per year.

4. How much do principal systems engineers make in the UK?

UK. The median Principal Systems Engineer salary in the UK is £61,500 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 18 March 2025.

5. What is the salary of principal software engineer in Tesco?

12 - 17 years exp. 16 - 18 years exp. Principal Software Engineer salary at Tesco ranges between ₹7.5 Lakhs to ₹24.9 Lakhs per year for employees with experience between 5 years to 12 years. Salary estimates are based on 46 latest salaries received from various employees of Tesco.

6. Who is the highest paid engineer UK?

Highest Paid Engineering Jobs in UKNuclear Engineering.Data Engineering.Petroleum Engineering.Robotics Engineering.Aerospace Engineering.Biomedical Engineering.Chemical Engineering.Electrical Engineering.More items...•14 Jan 2025