Principal Software Engineer H-1B salary at Red Hat — 50 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 8
- Filings · FY2025
- $191k
- Median base · FY2025
- $182k–$206k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +11%
- vs market median · all years
Red Hat filed 8 certified H-1B LCAs for Principal Software Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $191k and the middle 50% of offers between $182k and $206k. Across all years its $167k median is 11% above the $151k market median for Principal Software Engineer. It has filed 50 Principal Software Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in Raleigh, NC.
How much does Red Hat pay a Principal Software Engineer?
Certified base salary for Principal Software Engineer at Red Hat by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $191k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Red Hat pay Principal Software Engineers above the market?
Red Hat's all-years median against every employer's certified Principal Software Engineer LCAs — 11% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | 50 | $167k |
| All employers · Principal Software Engineer | 7,525 | $151k |
How has Red Hat's Principal Software Engineer hiring changed by year?
2 certified Principal Software Engineer filings in FY2016 → 7 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 7 | −12% | $182k |
| FY2025 | 8 | −20% | $191k |
| FY2024 | 10 | +67% | $159k |
| FY2023 | 6 | +100% | $175k |
| FY2022 | 3 | −40% | $165k |
| FY2021 | 5 | +67% | $160k |
| FY2020 | 3 | −25% | $150k |
| FY2019 | 4 | +100% | $140k |
| FY2018 | 2 | 0% | $155k |
| FY2016 | 2 | — | $151k |
Which wage levels does Red Hat file for Principal Software Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 98% of Red Hat's Principal Software Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 47 Principal Software Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II2.1%1
- Level III27.7%13
- Level IV70.2%33
Where does Red Hat 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 |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 20 | $160k |
| Massachusetts | 10 | $160k |
| California | 7 | $162k |
| Georgia | 4 | $180k |
| Washington | 4 | $172k |
| New Jersey | 2 | $180k |
| New Hampshire | 1 | $185k |
| Oregon | 1 | $175k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, NC | 13 | $163k |
| Westford, MA | 8 | $140k |
| Atlanta, GA | 3 | $180k |
| Sammamish, WA | 3 | $194k |
| Waxhaw, NC | 3 | $160k |
| Boston, MA | 2 | $190k |
| Alameda, CA | 1 | $187k |
| Angier, NC | 1 | $156k |
Also filed as
Red Hat's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Principal Software Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Red Hat
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 181 | $101k |
| Senior Software Engineer | 133 | $130k |
| Associate Software Engineer | 38 | $80k |
Top Principal Software Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Walmart Associates | 333 | $186k |
| Microsoft | 237 | $190k |
| Cadence Design Systems | 171 | $138k |
| Palo Alto Networks | 163 | $204k |
| 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 Red Hat
- How much does Red Hat pay a Principal Software Engineer on an H-1B?
- Red Hat's median certified H-1B base salary for Principal Software Engineer is $191k in FY2025, from 8 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $182k and $206k. Across all years the median is $167k.
- How many Principal Software Engineer H-1B LCAs has Red Hat filed?
- Red Hat has 50 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Principal Software Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2026), 7 of them in FY2026. That is 4% of its 1,216 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Red Hat pay Principal Software Engineers above the market?
- Red Hat's all-years median of $167k is 11% above the $151k median for Principal Software Engineer across all H-1B employers (7,525 certified filings).
- Where does Red Hat hire H-1B Principal Software Engineers?
- Red Hat's Principal Software Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in North Carolina, Massachusetts, California; the top cities are Raleigh, NC, Westford, MA, Atlanta, GA.
- 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 (FY2016–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →