Principal Engineer
Ever been to a mountain climbing adventure where you, along with the team, follow an experienced lead? You can think of the team lead as the principal engineer who leads a group of new and experienced engineers throughout the project.
They inspect and manage resources and budget, communicate the progress and put all their efforts to increase profitability.
They are the science people who practice the art of managing their team and project and complete project within provided resources. So many engineers pursue a master’s in management sciences to polish their administrative skills, but that’s not a must; instead, most principal engineers earn higher degrees in their relevant field.
Job Overview
Salary
Workplace
How to Start
Job Overview
What does a Principal Engineer do?
A principal engineer is a highly experienced engineer who oversees a variety of projects from start to finish. Since they have been in their field for a while, they tend to take on more of a leadership role where they offer support and guidance to their team members.
A principal engineer is responsible for monitoring the overall design phase of the construction process, including coordinating with the client for progress and updates, as well as performing adjustments as needed based on clients’ specifications and requirements.
Principal engineers also inspect the materials and resources used to ensure that the project stays within the budget goals and set timeframe. They should have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in preparing reports and training new staff.
Team Management
Principal engineers work with engineering teams to oversee warranty reviews and product return reviews. They schedule engineering meetings to discuss new ideas, issues and status.
Analysis Knowledge
They evaluate existing engineering processes and recommend improvements. They may also recommend new technologies to improve system performance and reliability.
Project Management
Principal engineers provide technical guidance in planning and executing assigned projects. They also participate in project analysis, design, implementations and commissioning phases.
Provide Support
These engineers provide support in system acceptance testing and validation activities. They prepare user requirements, technical specifications, design specifications and commissioning plans.
Salary
How much does a Principal Engineer make?
The average Principal Electronics Engineer salary in the United States is $187,406, but the salary range typically falls between $168,430 and $203,393. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.
These are 2025 national salary averages and may fluctuate based on location.
Workplace
What does the workplace for a Principal Engineer look like?
Most principal engineers work in offices, although some may also work in research laboratories and industrial production plants or at construction sites. Most electrical engineering and engineering managers work full time and some work more than 40 hours a week. These managers are often under considerable pressure to meet deadlines and budgets.How to Start
How to become a Principal Engineer?
Principal engineers must have at least a bachelor’s degree in their field of engineering. During your undergraduate program, you will learn engineering fundamentals, advanced mathematics and physics. Your program may also involve more hands-on experiences that allow you to fully immerse yourself into your particular field of engineering.
While it may not be necessary to get the job, you may choose to also earn a master’s degree or even a doctoral degree. When earning additional education, you can show employers that you are a true expert in your field. By specializing in your knowledge of engineering, you can more effectively lead projects and solve problems.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a principal engineer. In fact, many principal engineer jobs require experience in a role such as senior engineer. Meanwhile, many principal engineers also have previous career experience in roles such as senior software engineer or software engineer.
