Software Principal Engineer H-1B wages

Filings decided July 2025 to June 2026. Most are classified as Software Developers (SOC 15-1252).

Employers filed 66 wage applications for Software Principal Engineer jobs from July 2025 to June 2026, across 11 employers. The median offered wage was $184,927, 13.4% above the government's prevailing wage for the job. EMC Corporation filed the most (26, median $200,619).

Filings: 66
Positions covered: 66
Employers: 11
Median offered: $184,927
Median prevailing wage: $163,550
Filings since FY2020: 469
Median offer change since FY2020: +40%

Software Principal Engineer, all employers66 filings, July 2025 to June 2026

$184,927Median wage employers told the government they would pay

$174,559 to $201,922Where the middle half of the filings fall

$163,550Prevailing wage: the legal minimum for these jobs

Offered wage since 2020

The median wage offered for Software Principal Engineer jobs rose 40%, from $135,107 in fiscal 2020 to $189,000 in fiscal 2026 so far. In fiscal 2026 it was 14.2% above the prevailing wage. Filings peaked in fiscal 2022, with 94 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.

Software Principal Engineer by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Filings	Median offered	vs year before	Median prevailing	vs prevailing
2026 (Oct to Jun)	45	$189,000	+3.1%	$163,550	+14.2%
2025	72	$183,314	+7.2%	$155,709	+14.7%
2024	62	$170,998	+4.2%	$139,755	+14.5%
2023	52	$164,116	−0.5%	$134,992	+13.3%
2022	94	$165,000	+17.9%	$127,504	+16.3%
2021	60	$140,000	+3.6%	$123,453	+8.7%
2020	84	$135,107	n/a	$124,550	+6.5%

Employers that file for this title

Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wage

Employer	Filings	Median offered	vs prevailing
EMC Corporation	26	$200,619	+13.7%
Dell Products L.P.	19	$189,299	+13.1%
Boomi L.P.	11	$174,965	+19.8%
Dell USA L.P.	2	$169,344	+10.0%
CalSoft Private Limited	2	$152,500	+11.0%
Prospance Inc	1	$96,866	at the minimum
Zimmer, Inc.	1	$150,000	+0.2%
Archer Technologies LLC	1	$137,816	+2.1%
USA Waste-Management Resources, LLC	1	$149,718	at the minimum
City National Bank	1	$112,923	at the minimum
Sophos, Inc.	1	$164,865	+10.7%

Where Software Principal Engineer jobs are filed

Worksite	Filings	Median offered	vs prevailing
Round Rock, TX	19	$183,314	+12.1%
Hopkinton, MA	10	$189,365	+6.3%
Conshohocken, PA	8	$168,666	+21.4%
Seattle, WA	5	$221,000	+8.7%
Austin, TX	4	$200,618	+22.7%
Charlotte, NC	2	$174,419	+12.8%
Durham, NC	2	$191,847	+17.7%
Hillsboro, OR	2	$152,500	+11.0%
Mckinney, TX	2	$206,803	+34.8%
Santa Clara, CA	2	$222,406	+5.1%
Celina, TX	1	$112,923	at the minimum
Chicago, IL	1	$194,616	+76.6%
Concord, NC	1	$177,163	+14.5%
Cypress, TX	1	$150,000	+0.2%
Houston, TX	1	$149,718	at the minimum
Naperville, IL	1	$181,209	+18.2%
Overland Park, KS	1	$137,816	+2.1%
Plainfield, IL	1	$164,865	+10.7%
San Francisco, CA	1	$190,093	+15.6%
Seffner, FL	1	$187,175	+28.5%

Seniority of the jobs filed

Level I, entry0%

Level II, qualified3%

Level III, experienced15%

Level IV, fully competent82%

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.