Principal Software Engineer H-1B salary at Palo Alto Networks — 163 certified filings (FY2017–FY2026)
- 32
- Filings · FY2025
- $214k
- Median base · FY2025
- $214k–$215k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +35%
- vs market median · all years
Palo Alto Networks filed 32 certified H-1B LCAs for Principal Software Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $214k and the middle 50% of offers between $214k and $215k. Across all years its $204k median is 35% above the $151k market median for Principal Software Engineer. It has filed 163 Principal Software Engineer LCAs since FY2017, most often in Santa Clara, CA.
How much does Palo Alto Networks pay a Principal Software Engineer?
Certified base salary for Principal Software 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. $214k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Palo Alto Networks pay Principal Software Engineers above the market?
Palo Alto Networks's all-years median against every employer's certified Principal Software Engineer LCAs — 35% 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 | 163 | $204k |
| All employers · Principal Software Engineer | 7,525 | $151k |
How has Palo Alto Networks's Principal Software Engineer hiring changed by year?
2 certified Principal Software Engineer filings in FY2017 → 22 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 22 | −31% | $190k |
| FY2025 | 32 | 0% | $214k |
| FY2024 | 32 | +88% | $206k |
| FY2023 | 17 | −29% | $203k |
| FY2022 | 24 | +100% | $193k |
| FY2021 | 12 | +50% | $184k |
| FY2020 | 8 | −27% | $177k |
| FY2019 | 11 | +267% | $200k |
| FY2018 | 3 | +50% | $190k |
| FY2017 | 2 | — | $180k |
Which wage levels does Palo Alto Networks file for Principal Software Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 91% of Palo Alto Networks's Principal Software Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 70 Principal Software Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II8.6%6
- Level III7.1%5
- Level IV84.3%59
Where does Palo Alto Networks hire H-1B Principal Software 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 | 160 | $205k |
| North Carolina | 2 | $144k |
| Texas | 1 | $204k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara, CA | 155 | $205k |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | $175k |
| Camarillo, CA | 1 | $119k |
| Chapel Hill, NC | 1 | $144k |
| Charlotte, NC | 1 | $200k |
| Frisco, TX | 1 | $204k |
| Mountain House, CA | 1 | $148k |
| Newark, CA | 1 | $210k |
Also filed as
Palo Alto Networks's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Principal Software Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Palo Alto Networks
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Software QA Engineer | 61 | $130k |
Top Principal Software Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Walmart Associates | 333 | $186k |
| Microsoft | 237 | $190k |
| Cadence Design Systems | 171 | $138k |
| Nisum Technologies | 135 | $120k |
| Symantec | 122 | $139k |
| Intuit | 112 | $192k |
| Veritas Technologies | 100 | $138k |
| Staples | 98 | $113k |
| Splunk | 90 | $220k |
Common questions about Principal Software Engineer H-1B pay at Palo Alto Networks
- How much does Palo Alto Networks pay a Principal Software Engineer on an H-1B?
- Palo Alto Networks's median certified H-1B base salary for Principal Software Engineer is $214k in FY2025, from 32 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $214k and $215k. Across all years the median is $204k.
- How many Principal Software Engineer H-1B LCAs has Palo Alto Networks filed?
- Palo Alto Networks has 163 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Principal Software Engineer on record (FY2017–FY2026), 22 of them in FY2026. That is 4% of its 3,836 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Palo Alto Networks pay Principal Software Engineers above the market?
- Palo Alto Networks's all-years median of $204k is 35% above the $151k median for Principal Software Engineer across all H-1B employers (7,525 certified filings).
- Where does Palo Alto Networks hire H-1B Principal Software Engineers?
- Palo Alto Networks's Principal Software Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, North Carolina, Texas; the top cities are Santa Clara, CA, San Francisco, CA, 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
Calculate your H-1B lottery odds →orCheck out the insights →
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 →