Drop your resume

Principal software engineer salary at startups in the United States

Every US market on the live board, including cities too thin for a page of their own. Taken from the salary ranges venture-backed startups post on their own job sites. Not a survey.

$290K

Median posted base

$215K - $324K

Typical range, 25th to 75th percentile

14

Live priced postings in the sample

228

Venture-backed companies in the index

Questions people ask

What does a principal software engineer make at a startup in the United States?

Across 14 live postings with a USD range at venture-backed startups, the median posted base is $290K, with a typical range of $215K to $324K. That is base salary only. Startup offers add equity on top.

Does this include equity or bonus?

No. These figures are posted base salary ranges only. Equity is usually the larger upside at earlier stages, which is why a startup base can trail big tech while the total package does not.

How current are these numbers?

They recompute from the live roles.cc board several times a day. Each figure traces to the salary range a company posted on its own job site, so the page reflects offers being made now.

Other cuts

Mid-level, San FranciscoMid-level, New YorkMid-level, Remote (US)Senior, San FranciscoSenior, New YorkSenior, Remote (US)Staff, San FranciscoStaff, New YorkStaff, Remote (US)Mid-level, United StatesSenior, United StatesStaff, United StatesDirector of engineering, United StatesAll levels, San FranciscoAll levels, New YorkAll levels, Remote (US)The full indexCompaniesJob hubsResearch reports

Open roles for these markets sit on the company directory and the job hubs. The research reports freeze a month of the same board.

These are live roles, not survey rows.

Every posting behind these numbers is open right now on the board, sorted by how recently the company raised.

Drop your resumeHow this works

Method: USD base ranges as posted; each role counts once at the midpoint of its range; buckets under 12 roles suppressed. Free to cite with attribution to roles.cc and a link to this page.