Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Wisconsin

Principal Software Engineer jobs in Wisconsin are actively sought across the state's growing technology, financial services, and healthcare IT sectors, with demand concentrated at both the senior individual-contributor and technical leadership levels. Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay anchor most of the hiring, and established employers such as Fiserv, Epic Systems, and Kohler regularly seek principal engineers to lead architecture decisions and mentor engineering teams. The most in-demand specialties include distributed systems design, cloud platform engineering, and full-stack technical leadership. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.

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Overview

Open roles8
Top employerMilwaukee Tool
Top cityGreenville, WI
Cities hiring6
Work type33% Remote
Top industryEnergy

Showing 5 of 8+ Principal Software Engineer jobs

CVS Health
Principal Software Development Engineer
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CVS Health
Added 1w ago
Principal Software Development Engineer
CVS Health
Madison, Wisconsin
Business Operations
Customer Service
Customer Success
$144k - $288k/yr
Master's degree
10,000+

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Milwaukee Tool
Principal Software Engineer (Oracle Fusion)
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Milwaukee Tool
Added 3w ago
Principal Software Engineer (Oracle Fusion)
Milwaukee Tool
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
Engineering (Non-Software)
Product Management
Technical Product & Program Management
10,000+

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Milwaukee Tool
Principal Software Architect- Trade Promotion Management (TPM)
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Milwaukee Tool
Added 1mo ago
Principal Software Architect- Trade Promotion Management (TPM)
Milwaukee Tool
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
Business Development
Executive Leadership & C-Suite
Strategy & Corporate Development
Master's degree
10,000+

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Foundation Finance
Principal Software Engineer
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Foundation Finance
Added 1mo ago
Principal Software Engineer
Foundation Finance
Rothschild, Wisconsin
Engineering (Non-Software)
Product Management
Technical Product & Program Management
$135k - $160k/yr
Remote (US)
Bachelor's degree in engineering
201-500

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Pierce Manufacturing
Sr. Principal Embedded Software Engineer
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Pierce Manufacturing
Added 2mo ago
Sr. Principal Embedded Software Engineer
Pierce Manufacturing
Greenville, Wisconsin
Backend Engineering
Full-stack Engineering
Software Engineering
$104k - $174k/yr
On-Site
Bachelor's degree
1,001-5,000

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See All 8 Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Wisconsin

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Principal Software Engineer Jobs by City in Wisconsin

Where Wisconsin roles are concentrated, by current openings.

Greenville
2 jobs
Menomonee Falls
2 jobs
Madison
1 job
Oshkosh
1 job
Appleton
1 job
Rothschild
1 job

Principal Software Engineer Job Market in Wisconsin

A snapshot from current Wisconsin openings, updated as new roles post.

Who's Hiring

Milwaukee Tool
Milwaukee Tool2 open roles
Pierce Manufacturing
Pierce Manufacturing2 open roles
Brunswick
Brunswick1 open role

Top Industries Hiring

  • Energy
  • Manufacturing

What Wisconsin Employers Look For

The qualifications that appear most often in principal software engineer jobs across Wisconsin.

  • Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a closely related field
  • Eight or more years of progressive software engineering experience including technical leadership
  • Deep expertise in at least one major cloud platform such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
  • Demonstrated ability to design and own large-scale distributed systems end to end
  • Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving engineering standards across multiple teams
  • Strong cross-functional collaboration skills working with product, data, and infrastructure teams

Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Wisconsin: Frequently Asked Questions

How do you become a principal software engineer in Wisconsin?

Principal software engineer is not a state-licensed role in Wisconsin, so there is no board exam or credential required by law. The typical path starts with a bachelor's degree in computer science or software engineering, followed by progressive experience as a software engineer, senior engineer, and staff or lead engineer. Wisconsin employers, including large enterprise technology companies in Madison and financial technology firms in Milwaukee, generally expect candidates to have led system architecture work across multiple teams before being considered at the principal level.

How much do principal software engineers make in Wisconsin?

Principal software engineers in Wisconsin earn a median of about $122,660 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $77,710 for the lowest 10% to over $168,630 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.

Which companies hire principal software engineers in Wisconsin?

Employers hiring principal software engineers in Wisconsin right now include Milwaukee Tool, Pierce Manufacturing, and Brunswick, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Wisconsin's concentration of enterprise software, healthcare IT, and financial technology companies means principal-level openings tend to be tied to large established organizations with complex, long-running engineering systems.

Which Wisconsin cities have the most principal software engineer jobs?

Greenville, Menomonee Falls, and Madison have the most principal software engineer openings in Wisconsin. Milwaukee leads because of its dense cluster of financial technology and manufacturing technology firms, Madison draws significant demand from Epic Systems and the University of Wisconsin's affiliated tech sector, and smaller markets like Green Bay reflect anchor employers in insurance and retail technology seeking senior engineering leadership.

Are there remote principal software engineer jobs in Wisconsin?

Yes, and more than most fields. About 67% of principal software engineer openings tied to Wisconsin are remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting how naturally suited this senior individual-contributor role is to distributed work. The parts of the role most commonly performed remotely include architecture design, code review, and cross-team technical planning, while some employers require on-site presence for leadership meetings or stakeholder sessions.

How can I get hired as a principal software engineer in Wisconsin with little or no experience?

The most realistic path for candidates without principal-level experience is to secure a senior software engineer role first and grow into principal scope from within. Wisconsin employers like Fiserv and Epic Systems hire senior engineers and promote internally as those engineers take on system design ownership and cross-team influence. Building a portfolio of architecture decision records, open-source contributions, or lead engineering credits from prior roles signals readiness. Lateral moves from staff engineer, solutions architect, or engineering manager roles are common entry points for candidates making the transition from outside.

Where can I find and apply to principal software engineer jobs in Wisconsin?

You can find and apply to principal software engineer jobs in Wisconsin on Migrate Mate, which lists current Wisconsin openings updated in real time. Search the available roles by location, specialty, or company, find the positions that fit your experience and goals, and apply directly to the ones that match.

See All 8 Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Wisconsin

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