Principal Engineer H-1B salary at Palo Alto Networks — 49 certified filings (FY2017–FY2026)
- 8
- Filings · FY2025
- $215k
- Median base · FY2025
- $214k–$215k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +29%
- vs market median · all years
Palo Alto Networks filed 8 certified H-1B LCAs for Principal Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $215k and the middle 50% of offers between $214k and $215k. Across all years its $193k median is 29% above the $150k market median for Principal Engineer. It has filed 49 Principal Engineer LCAs since FY2017, most often in Santa Clara, CA.
How much does Palo Alto Networks pay a Principal Engineer?
Certified base salary for Principal Engineer at Palo Alto Networks by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $215k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Palo Alto Networks pay Principal Engineers above the market?
Palo Alto Networks's all-years median against every employer's certified Principal Engineer LCAs — 29% above the market. Same cleaned DOL title, same base-salary definition, so the two rows compare like for like.
| Base salary for this title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto Networks | 49 | $193k |
| All employers · Principal Engineer | 2,679 | $150k |
How has Palo Alto Networks's Principal Engineer hiring changed by year?
1 certified Principal Engineer filings in FY2017 → 5 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 5 | −37% | $213k |
| FY2025 | 8 | +100% | $215k |
| FY2024 | 4 | −50% | $182k |
| FY2023 | 8 | −20% | $193k |
| FY2022 | 10 | +25% | $184k |
| FY2021 | 8 | +100% | $176k |
| FY2020 | 4 | +300% | $173k |
| FY2019 | 1 | 0% | $203k |
| FY2017 | 1 | — | $182k |
Which wage levels does Palo Alto Networks file for Principal Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 97% of Palo Alto Networks's Principal Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 30 Principal Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II3.3%1
- Level III10.0%3
- Level IV86.7%26
Where does Palo Alto Networks hire H-1B Principal Engineers?
Worksite states and cities on the certified filings for this title, all years, with the median base salary at each.
| State | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| California | 47 | $193k |
| Washington | 2 | $182k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara, CA | 44 | $190k |
| Bellevue, WA | 1 | $182k |
| Camarillo, CA | 1 | $200k |
| Dublin, CA | 1 | $196k |
| San Ramon, CA | 1 | $198k |
| Snohomish, WA | 1 | $189k |
Also filed as
Palo Alto Networks's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Principal Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Palo Alto Networks
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Principal Software Engineer | 163 | $204k |
| Principal Engineer Software | 139 | $209k |
| Senior Staff Software Engineer | 139 | $178k |
| Staff Software Engineer | 114 | $143k |
| Software Engineer | 107 | $130k |
| Technical Support Engineer | 101 | $87k |
| Senior Staff Engineer Software | 99 | $178k |
| Senior Software Engineer | 70 | $165k |
| Senior Product Manager | 62 | $194k |
| Senior Staff Engineer | 61 | $160k |
Top Principal Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Commvault Systems | 103 | $133k |
| Autodesk | 99 | $156k |
| Arm | 71 | $160k |
| Sambanova Systems | 65 | $161k |
| Tsmc Technology | 63 | $145k |
| Teksystems Global Services | 53 | $115k |
| Cisco Systems | 46 | $185k |
| Fusion Solutions | 33 | $118k |
| Comerica Management | 33 | $144k |
Common questions about Principal Engineer H-1B pay at Palo Alto Networks
- How much does Palo Alto Networks pay a Principal Engineer on an H-1B?
- Palo Alto Networks's median certified H-1B base salary for Principal Engineer is $215k in FY2025, from 8 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $214k and $215k. Across all years the median is $193k.
- How many Principal Engineer H-1B LCAs has Palo Alto Networks filed?
- Palo Alto Networks has 49 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Principal Engineer on record (FY2017–FY2026), 5 of them in FY2026. That is 1% of its 3,836 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Palo Alto Networks pay Principal Engineers above the market?
- Palo Alto Networks's all-years median of $193k is 29% above the $150k median for Principal Engineer across all H-1B employers (2,679 certified filings).
- Where does Palo Alto Networks hire H-1B Principal Engineers?
- Palo Alto Networks's Principal Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Washington; the top cities are Santa Clara, CA, Bellevue, WA, Camarillo, CA.
- Does a certified LCA mean an H-1B visa was approved?
- No. A Labor Condition Application (LCA) is the Department of Labor attestation an employer must have certified before filing an H-1B petition with USCIS. It records the job, worksite and offered wage, but not whether the petition was filed, selected in the lottery, or approved. Filing counts measure intent to sponsor, not headcount.
- What salary do these figures show?
- The base annual wage offered on the certified LCA, converted to a yearly amount. Bonus, equity, overtime and benefits are not included, so total compensation is typically higher. Figures are medians and percentiles over certified filings; wages above $5,000,000 a year are excluded as data-entry errors.
- What do prevailing-wage levels I–IV mean?
- The Department of Labor assigns each LCA an OES wage level from I (entry) to IV (fully competent) for the occupation and area. Under the FY2027 wage-weighted H-1B lottery rule, a higher level earns more selection entries, so an employer's level mix is a proxy for how senior its sponsored roles are.
Keep exploring
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2017–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →