Principal Engineer I H-1B wages
Filings decided July 2025 to June 2026. Most are classified as Software Developers (SOC 15-1252).
Employers filed 42 wage applications for Principal Engineer I jobs from July 2025 to June 2026, across 6 employers. The median offered wage was $145,863, exactly the government's prevailing wage, the legal minimum, for the job. Charter Communications, Inc. filed the most (35, median $143,214).
- Filings
- 42
- Positions covered
- 42
- Employers
- 6
- Median offered
- $145,863
- Median prevailing wage
- $141,180
- Filings since FY2020
- 226
- Median offer change since FY2020
- +24%
Offered wage since 2020
The median wage offered for Principal Engineer I jobs rose 24%, from $120,000 in fiscal 2020 to $148,512 in fiscal 2026 so far. In fiscal 2026 it sat exactly on the prevailing wage. Filings peaked in fiscal 2025, with 50 filings.
Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wageFilings per year
Fiscal years run October to September. Fiscal 2026 is still running: these figures cover October 2025 to June 2026.
Principal Engineer I by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Filings | Median offered | vs year before | Median prevailing | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Oct to Jun) | 29 | $148,512 | +3.7% | $140,046 | at the minimum |
| 2025 | 50 | $143,214 | +7.3% | $143,214 | at the minimum |
| 2024 | 25 | $133,415 | −1.2% | $130,520 | at the minimum |
| 2023 | 39 | $135,000 | +2.5% | $132,704 | at the minimum |
| 2022 | 44 | $131,685 | +2.2% | $131,685 | at the minimum |
| 2021 | 18 | $128,898 | +7.4% | $128,898 | at the minimum |
| 2020 | 21 | $120,000 | n/a | $113,901 | at the minimum |
Employers that file for this title
Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wage
| Employer | Filings | Median offered | Offered range and prevailing wage | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charter Communications, Inc. | 35 | $143,214 | at the minimum | |
| Western Alliance Bank | 3 | $161,968 | +11.5% | |
| Electric Power Engineers, LLC | 1 | $167,500 | +21.1% | |
| Institute of Gas Technology | 1 | $140,000 | +13.2% | |
| Alkira, Inc. | 1 | $195,000 | +67.1% | |
| Toyota Motor North America, Inc. | 1 | $178,643 | +13.8% | |
Where Principal Engineer I jobs are filed
| Worksite | Filings | Median offered | Offered range and prevailing wage | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenwood Village, CO | 23 | $150,834 | at the minimum | |
| Englewood, CO | 7 | $143,214 | at the minimum | |
| Maryland Heights, MO | 3 | $133,973 | at the minimum | |
| Irving, TX | 2 | $154,775 | +8.9% | |
| Charlotte, NC | 1 | $148,512 | at the minimum | |
| Des Plaines, IL | 1 | $140,000 | +13.2% | |
| Durham, NC | 1 | $195,000 | +67.1% | |
| Joshua, TX | 1 | $167,500 | +21.1% | |
| Plano, TX | 1 | $178,643 | +13.8% | |
| St. Louis, MO | 1 | $140,046 | at the minimum | |
| San Jose, CA | 1 | $161,968 | +24.8% | |
Seniority of the jobs filed
The government assigns each job one of four wage levels. A higher level means a higher legal minimum.
What these numbers are
- They are wages employers attested to on Labor Condition Applications (Form ETA-9035), not paychecks. Bonuses and stock are not included.
- A filing is not a visa or a hire. One filing can cover several positions, and some are later withdrawn. Wage figures use certified filings only.
- The prevailing wage is the minimum the employer must pay for that job in that area, set from government wage surveys.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC disclosure data. How we clean and count it.
Related job titles
- Software Engineer$147,393
- Software Developer$111,946
- Senior Software Engineer$152,000
- Software Dev Engineer II$170,700
- Software Engineering$177,000
- Software Dev Engineer I$129,000
- Java Developer$102,877
- Staff Software Engineer$191,634
- Senior Data Engineer$139,152
- Senior Software Developer$129,667
- Software Dev Engineer III$204,700
- Software Engineer II$131,627