Principal Engineer Jobs in Santa Clara, CA

Principal Engineer jobs in Santa Clara are concentrated in Silicon Valley's semiconductor, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise software sectors, with demand centered in the Central Expressway corridor, Mission College Boulevard, and the Great America Parkway tech campuses. Employers actively hiring include Palo Alto Networks, NVIDIA, and Oracle. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.

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Overview

Open roles829+
Top employerPalo Alto Networks
Work type66% Hybrid
Top credentialBachelor's degree in electrical engineering
Companies hiring26

Showing 5 of 829+ Principal Engineer jobs

Palo Alto Networks
Sr Principal Engineer Software
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Palo Alto Networks
New 22h ago
Sr Principal Engineer Software
Palo Alto Networks
Santa Clara, California
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Data Science
Software Engineering
$184k - $297k/yr
10,000+

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Palo Alto Networks
Principal UI Engineer, Platform (Cortex)
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Palo Alto Networks
Added 3d ago
Principal UI Engineer, Platform (Cortex)
Palo Alto Networks
Santa Clara, California
Business Operations
Revenue Operations & Enablement
Sales
$156k - $253k/yr
Master's degree
10,000+

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Palo Alto Networks
Sr. Principal Software Engineer - Network Security - PanOS Dev
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Palo Alto Networks
Added 3d ago
Sr. Principal Software Engineer - Network Security - PanOS Dev
Palo Alto Networks
Santa Clara, California
Cloud & DevOps
Cloud Engineering
DevOps
Solutions Engineering & Architecture
$184k - $297k/yr
Bachelor of Science
10,000+

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E-Space
Principal DSP SW Engineer
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E-Space
Added 3d ago
Principal DSP SW Engineer
E-Space
Santa Clara, California
Customer Service
Customer Support
$140k - $200k/yr
Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering

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NVIDIA
8. Mixed Signal Design Engineer (MSD10), Sr. Mixed Signal Design Engineer (SMSD10) & Principal Mixed Signal Design Engineer (PMSD10)
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NVIDIA
Added 4d ago
8. Mixed Signal Design Engineer (MSD10), Sr. Mixed Signal Design Engineer (SMSD10) & Principal Mixed Signal Design Engineer (PMSD10)
NVIDIA
Santa Clara, California
Compliance & Risk
Health & Safety
Human Resources
$127k - $368k/yr
On-Site
10,000+

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See All 829+ Principal Engineer Jobs in Santa Clara

Find roles in Santa Clara that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.

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Principal Engineer Job Market in Santa Clara

Who's Hiring

  • Palo Alto Networks
    Palo Alto Networks276
  • NVIDIA
    NVIDIA107
  • Oracle
    Oracle80
  • Marvell Technology
    Marvell Technology62
  • ServiceNow
    ServiceNow45

Top Industries Hiring

  • Technology & Software
  • Manufacturing

Principal Engineer Jobs in Santa Clara: Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a principal engineer job in Santa Clara?

Target Santa Clara's dominant sectors: semiconductor design, cloud platforms, and enterprise networking, where principal engineers are hired most consistently. The Mission College Boulevard corridor and Great America Parkway campuses house many of the largest engineering orgs locally. Candidates who can demonstrate systems-level ownership, cross-functional technical leadership, and experience shipping at scale in hardware or distributed software tend to stand out in this market.

Which companies hire principal engineers in Santa Clara?

Companies currently hiring principal engineers in Santa Clara include Palo Alto Networks, NVIDIA, and Oracle, per current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Santa Clara's employer base skews heavily toward semiconductor firms, networking hardware companies, and hyperscale cloud providers, making it one of the densest concentrations of senior engineering demand in the country.

Are there remote principal engineer jobs in Santa Clara?

Yes, though principal engineer roles tied to hardware, chip design, or lab environments tend to require on-site presence. About 77% of principal engineer openings tied to Santa Clara are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting the flexibility available in software, cloud architecture, and platform engineering roles specifically.

How can I get a principal engineer job in Santa Clara with little or no experience?

The most realistic entry path is through a senior engineer role at one of Santa Clara's mid-size semiconductor or cloud infrastructure companies, where internal promotion to principal is common. Companies in the Mission College area and along the Central Expressway corridor often hire strong senior engineers and elevate them as scope grows. Building a portfolio around system design, performance optimization, or hardware-software co-design aligns well with what local teams value most.

Which industries hire the most principal engineers in Santa Clara?

Santa Clara principal engineer roles concentrate in Technology & Software and Manufacturing, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Santa Clara's position as the geographic center of Silicon Valley means its hiring is anchored in the chip design, networking, and cloud infrastructure companies that have headquartered or expanded their engineering operations there over decades.

See All 829+ Principal Engineer Jobs in Santa Clara

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