Principal Staff Engineer Jobs
Principal Staff Engineer jobs are open across technology, fintech, healthcare, and enterprise software, at every level from senior staff to distinguished engineer, with specializations in distributed systems, platform engineering, and ML infrastructure. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider and Fortune 500 company, dedicated to serving millions of electricity and natural gas customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. We make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar - delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy.
Xcel Energy is a place where you’ll have opportunities to grow, expand your skills, and help lead the clean energy transition. We offer meaningful rewards, recognition, and support to help you build your career and make an impact - both on the job and beyond. Most importantly, it means you’ll be joining a company that knows employees are the driving force behind its success and is committed to helping you be your best.
Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model to enable collaboration and flexibility. Many roles are expected to work onsite three days per week (Tuesday–Thursday); however, work location expectations vary based on role, team, and business needs.
The job summary below and responsibilities reflect the staff engineer level role. The successfully chosen candidate will be placed at a level that is commensurate with their skills and experience as different skills and/or experience will be required at the senior and principal engineer levels.
In this role, you will develop and support integrated strategic plans for gas and electric distribution systems by identifying collaboration opportunities, evaluating future scenarios and innovative solutions, and aligning resources, forecasts, and departmental priorities. You will partner across teams to incorporate regulatory requirements, internal strategic direction, cost-benefit considerations, and system constraints into cohesive planning efforts. Strategic plans will integrate traditional resources with non-traditional resources including demand response, non-wires alternatives, non-pipes alternatives, virtual power plants, energy efficiency, beneficial electrification, energy storage, and managed charging. You will also communicate plans, recommendations, and process documentation to internal and external stakeholders to support informed decision-making and continuous improvement. This position will work across both the gas and electric systems. An ideal candidate will have expertise in electric system planning with a working knowledge and ability to develop expertise on the gas side and with non-traditional solutions.
Position Summary
Applies extensive technical expertise and has full knowledge of other related disciplines. Performs as a staff advisor and consultant in a technical specialty, a type of facility or equipment, or a program function. Carries out complex or innovative assignments requiring the development of new or improved techniques and procedures. Work is expected to result in the development of new/improved techniques and procedures or new/refined equipment, materials, processes, products, and/or scientific methods. Represents the organization as the prime technical contact on contracts and projects and interacts with senior external personnel on significant technical matters often requiring coordination between organizations. Work is performed without appreciable direction and considerable latitude is exercised in determining technical objectives of assignment. Guidance relates largely to overall objectives, critical issues, new concepts and policy matters. Completed work is reviewed from a relatively long- term perspective, for desired results. May assign tasks to and direct engineers, technicians, craft personnel and administrative staff, including coordination and review of work assignments. Responsible for (and may lead) multiple projects of moderate to large size or portions of major projects.
Essential Responsibilities
- Applies extensive technical expertise and has an understanding of the basic principles of other related disciplines. Fully demonstrates the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level by applying technical standards, principles, theories, concepts, and techniques to lead projects of moderate to large size, scope and complexity.
- Largely self-directed work is expected to result in the development of new or improved techniques, procedures and standards. Supports the development of technical documentation (including but not limited to designs, testing, calculations, reports, standards, etc.)
- Without appreciable direction exercises considerable latitude in determining ongoing technical support for project activities within areas such as Operations, Maintenance, Testing/diagnostics and Regulatory. Provides field engineering oversight and direction for activities such as support, testing, installation, inspections, commissioning etc.
- Coordinates/leads multiple projects or portions of projects (including phases such as research, design, equipment selection, procurement, installation and commissioning). May lead more critical projects with oversight of a higher-level engineer or supervisor.
- Represents the organization as the prime technical contact in the bid/evaluation processes including preparation of bid documents, completion of technical evaluations for proposals and providing recommendations for selection. Interacts with senior external personnel on significant technical matters often requiring coordination with internal and external organizations.
- Effectively and with precision resolves difficult technical/business matters both inter-organizationally and with outside customer/vendors with all formats of communication.
- May assign tasks to and/or direct engineers, technicians, craft personnel and other support staff including coordination and review of work assignments. Provides guidance and mentoring to less experienced engineers. Responsible for continuous self-development of technical skills and competencies.
- Leads activities such as budgeting, estimating, forecasting, accounting, work order management, in support of engineering projects.
Staff Engineer Level (Salary Range: $81,000 -106,267)
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET accredited, electrical or civil engineering degrees preferred.
- 2+year's relevant engineering experience. Demonstrated broad knowledge & proficiency in specialty area, knowledge of related specialties, & general knowledge of other related disciplines.
- Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills & core competencies for this engineering level established & documented by the organization.
- EIT/FE (Engineer in Training/Fundamentals of Engineering) strongly preferred.
Senior Engineer Level (Salary Range: $97,000-$145,400)
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET accredited, electrical or civil engineering degrees preferred.
- 5+ years relevant engineering experience with EIT/FE (Engineer in Training/Fundamentals of Engineering) required; 7+ years relevant engineering experience without EIT/FE.
- Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level established & documented by the organization.
- Preferred PE (Professional Engineer) registration may be required depending on business need.
Principal Engineer (Salary Range: $112,000-$178,900)
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET accredited, electrical or civil engineering degrees preferred.
- 9+ years relevant engineering experience with PE (Professional Engineer) registration required; 15+ years relevant engineering experience without PE.
- Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level established & documented by the organization.
Preferred Experience and Skills:
- Utility load simulation and resource modeling tools such as Encompass, LoadSEER
Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together.
Our Values
Connected, Committed, Trustworthy, Safe
Our Employee Commitments
- Work that makes a difference
- A team you can count of
- Opportunities to grow
- Rewards that help you thrive
Xcel Energy provides job applicants reasonable accommodations for disabilities throughout the application process. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form.
Non-Bargaining
The anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $81,000.00 to $178,900.00 per year
This position is eligible for the following benefits: Annual Incentive Program, Medical/Pharmacy Plan, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA), Transportation Reimbursement Account, Short-term disability (STD), Long-term disability (LTD), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Tuition reimbursement, Transit programs, Employee recognition program, Pension, 401(k) plan, Paid time off (PTO), Holidays, Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO), Parental Leave
Benefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end, suspend, or amend any of its plans, at any time, in whole or in part.
In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information including but not limited to dates of school attendance and graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.
Deadline to Apply: 12/01/26
EEO is the Law (PDF) | Equal Opportunity Statement (PDF) | Employee Rights (PDF)
All Xcel Energy employees and contractors share responsibility for protecting the company's information and systems by adhering to cybersecurity policies, standards, and best practices, recognizing that cybersecurity is everyone's responsibility.
Accessibility Statement
Xcel Energy endeavors to make https://www.xcelenergy.com and https://jobs.xcelenergy.com accessible to any and all users. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form. For any other application related questions, including application follow-ups or technical issues, please use our Recruiting Assistance, Electra, for assistance. Electra can be found in the lower right-hand corner of our Xcel Energy Careers site.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider and Fortune 500 company, dedicated to serving millions of electricity and natural gas customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. We make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar - delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy.
Xcel Energy is a place where you’ll have opportunities to grow, expand your skills, and help lead the clean energy transition. We offer meaningful rewards, recognition, and support to help you build your career and make an impact - both on the job and beyond. Most importantly, it means you’ll be joining a company that knows employees are the driving force behind its success and is committed to helping you be your best.
Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model to enable collaboration and flexibility. Many roles are expected to work onsite three days per week (Tuesday–Thursday); however, work location expectations vary based on role, team, and business needs.
The job summary below and responsibilities reflect the staff engineer level role. The successfully chosen candidate will be placed at a level that is commensurate with their skills and experience as different skills and/or experience will be required at the senior and principal engineer levels.
In this role, you will develop and support integrated strategic plans for gas and electric distribution systems by identifying collaboration opportunities, evaluating future scenarios and innovative solutions, and aligning resources, forecasts, and departmental priorities. You will partner across teams to incorporate regulatory requirements, internal strategic direction, cost-benefit considerations, and system constraints into cohesive planning efforts. Strategic plans will integrate traditional resources with non-traditional resources including demand response, non-wires alternatives, non-pipes alternatives, virtual power plants, energy efficiency, beneficial electrification, energy storage, and managed charging. You will also communicate plans, recommendations, and process documentation to internal and external stakeholders to support informed decision-making and continuous improvement. This position will work across both the gas and electric systems. An ideal candidate will have expertise in electric system planning with a working knowledge and ability to develop expertise on the gas side and with non-traditional solutions.
Position Summary
Applies extensive technical expertise and has full knowledge of other related disciplines. Performs as a staff advisor and consultant in a technical specialty, a type of facility or equipment, or a program function. Carries out complex or innovative assignments requiring the development of new or improved techniques and procedures. Work is expected to result in the development of new/improved techniques and procedures or new/refined equipment, materials, processes, products, and/or scientific methods. Represents the organization as the prime technical contact on contracts and projects and interacts with senior external personnel on significant technical matters often requiring coordination between organizations. Work is performed without appreciable direction and considerable latitude is exercised in determining technical objectives of assignment. Guidance relates largely to overall objectives, critical issues, new concepts and policy matters. Completed work is reviewed from a relatively long- term perspective, for desired results. May assign tasks to and direct engineers, technicians, craft personnel and administrative staff, including coordination and review of work assignments. Responsible for (and may lead) multiple projects of moderate to large size or portions of major projects.
Essential Responsibilities
- Applies extensive technical expertise and has an understanding of the basic principles of other related disciplines. Fully demonstrates the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level by applying technical standards, principles, theories, concepts, and techniques to lead projects of moderate to large size, scope and complexity.
- Largely self-directed work is expected to result in the development of new or improved techniques, procedures and standards. Supports the development of technical documentation (including but not limited to designs, testing, calculations, reports, standards, etc.)
- Without appreciable direction exercises considerable latitude in determining ongoing technical support for project activities within areas such as Operations, Maintenance, Testing/diagnostics and Regulatory. Provides field engineering oversight and direction for activities such as support, testing, installation, inspections, commissioning etc.
- Coordinates/leads multiple projects or portions of projects (including phases such as research, design, equipment selection, procurement, installation and commissioning). May lead more critical projects with oversight of a higher-level engineer or supervisor.
- Represents the organization as the prime technical contact in the bid/evaluation processes including preparation of bid documents, completion of technical evaluations for proposals and providing recommendations for selection. Interacts with senior external personnel on significant technical matters often requiring coordination with internal and external organizations.
- Effectively and with precision resolves difficult technical/business matters both inter-organizationally and with outside customer/vendors with all formats of communication.
- May assign tasks to and/or direct engineers, technicians, craft personnel and other support staff including coordination and review of work assignments. Provides guidance and mentoring to less experienced engineers. Responsible for continuous self-development of technical skills and competencies.
- Leads activities such as budgeting, estimating, forecasting, accounting, work order management, in support of engineering projects.
Staff Engineer Level (Salary Range: $81,000 -106,267)
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET accredited, electrical or civil engineering degrees preferred.
- 2+year's relevant engineering experience. Demonstrated broad knowledge & proficiency in specialty area, knowledge of related specialties, & general knowledge of other related disciplines.
- Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills & core competencies for this engineering level established & documented by the organization.
- EIT/FE (Engineer in Training/Fundamentals of Engineering) strongly preferred.
Senior Engineer Level (Salary Range: $97,000-$145,400)
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET accredited, electrical or civil engineering degrees preferred.
- 5+ years relevant engineering experience with EIT/FE (Engineer in Training/Fundamentals of Engineering) required; 7+ years relevant engineering experience without EIT/FE.
- Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level established & documented by the organization.
- Preferred PE (Professional Engineer) registration may be required depending on business need.
Principal Engineer (Salary Range: $112,000-$178,900)
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering from ABET accredited, electrical or civil engineering degrees preferred.
- 9+ years relevant engineering experience with PE (Professional Engineer) registration required; 15+ years relevant engineering experience without PE.
- Ability to demonstrate the unique technical skills and core competencies for this engineering level established & documented by the organization.
Preferred Experience and Skills:
- Utility load simulation and resource modeling tools such as Encompass, LoadSEER
Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together.
Our Values
Connected, Committed, Trustworthy, Safe
Our Employee Commitments
- Work that makes a difference
- A team you can count of
- Opportunities to grow
- Rewards that help you thrive
Xcel Energy provides job applicants reasonable accommodations for disabilities throughout the application process. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form.
Non-Bargaining
The anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $81,000.00 to $178,900.00 per year
This position is eligible for the following benefits: Annual Incentive Program, Medical/Pharmacy Plan, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA), Transportation Reimbursement Account, Short-term disability (STD), Long-term disability (LTD), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Tuition reimbursement, Transit programs, Employee recognition program, Pension, 401(k) plan, Paid time off (PTO), Holidays, Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO), Parental Leave
Benefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end, suspend, or amend any of its plans, at any time, in whole or in part.
In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information including but not limited to dates of school attendance and graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.
Deadline to Apply: 12/01/26
EEO is the Law (PDF) | Equal Opportunity Statement (PDF) | Employee Rights (PDF)
All Xcel Energy employees and contractors share responsibility for protecting the company's information and systems by adhering to cybersecurity policies, standards, and best practices, recognizing that cybersecurity is everyone's responsibility.
Accessibility Statement
Xcel Energy endeavors to make https://www.xcelenergy.com and https://jobs.xcelenergy.com accessible to any and all users. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form. For any other application related questions, including application follow-ups or technical issues, please use our Recruiting Assistance, Electra, for assistance. Electra can be found in the lower right-hand corner of our Xcel Energy Careers site.
Principal Staff Engineer Jobs by Experience Level
See All 88 Principal Staff Engineer Jobs
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Find Principal Staff Engineer JobsPrincipal Staff Engineer Job Market
Who's Hiring
- Xcel Energy11
- Northrop Grumman5
- Lila Sciences4
- Eliyan3
- Eridu AI3
Top Industries Hiring
- Electronics & Hardware
- Technology & Software
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
- Energy
- Manufacturing
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in principal staff engineer jobs.
- 10 or more years of software engineering experience with at least 3 in a staff or principal role
- Proven expertise in distributed systems design, large-scale infrastructure, or platform architecture
- Strong proficiency in at least one of Java, Go, Python, or C++ in production environments
- Demonstrated ability to drive technical strategy and alignment across multiple engineering teams
- Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure at significant scale
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related technical field
Tips for Your Principal Staff Engineer Job Search
Align your resume to system scope
Principal staff engineer listings reward candidates who quantify organizational impact, not just technical output. Rewrite each bullet to show how your architecture decisions affected eng-org velocity, incident rates, or platform reliability across multiple teams.
Signal cross-functional technical leadership
Hiring managers at this level look for engineers who've driven alignment across product, platform, and leadership. Add a short summary section that names the cross-org initiatives you owned, not just the systems you built.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists principal staff engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Target companies at the right scale
The principal staff engineer title carries real authority at mid-to-large engineering orgs but can be nearly powerless at very early-stage startups. Filter openings by company size and read the job description for signs the role owns a genuine technical domain.
Prepare a system design narrative
Interviews at this level almost always include an open-ended architecture discussion. Practice walking through a system you designed from constraint identification through tradeoff resolution, with a clear explanation of what you changed in hindsight.
Negotiate scope before discussing compensation
Before trading compensation numbers, clarify the technical domain you'd own, your relationship to the VP of Engineering, and whether you'd have headcount influence. Scope mismatches at this level are harder to fix than compensation gaps.
Principal Staff Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most principal staff engineers?
The most active employers for principal staff engineers right now are Xcel Energy, Northrop Grumman, and Lila Sciences, and the most openings are in California, Massachusetts, and Minnesota, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand is especially high at companies scaling platform or infrastructure teams.
How many principal staff engineer jobs are remote?
About 58% of principal staff engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting strong remote flexibility at this seniority level. Platform engineering, developer tooling, and ML infrastructure roles tend to have the highest share of remote-eligible positions compared to embedded or hardware-adjacent roles.
How do you become a principal staff engineer?
Most engineers reach the principal staff level by first excelling as a senior engineer, then taking on staff-scope projects that require cross-team technical leadership. From there, you build a track of driving org-wide architectural decisions, mentoring other senior engineers, and influencing engineering strategy beyond your immediate team. Promotion typically requires both demonstrated technical impact and sponsorship from senior leadership.
Can you get a principal staff engineer role with limited experience at that level?
It's uncommon but possible if your senior staff or staff engineer experience includes genuine principal-level scope, such as owning a platform used by multiple product teams or setting technical direction that leadership adopted org-wide. Smaller companies and those in rapid growth phases sometimes hire engineers into the principal staff title based on demonstrated system design depth and cross-functional influence rather than strict years at title.
What does the principal staff engineer interview process look like?
The process typically starts with a recruiter screen followed by one or two technical phone interviews focused on system design and past architectural work. The on-site or virtual loop usually includes a large-scale system design session, a cross-functional leadership discussion, a coding round, and a conversation with senior engineering leadership about technical strategy. Some companies also include a written design document review or a presentation on a past project.
Where can I find and apply to principal staff engineer jobs?
You can find and apply to principal staff engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from companies across the United States. Search for roles that match your specialization and experience level, then apply directly to each listing that fits.
See All 88 Principal Staff Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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