What Principal Software Engineering Jobs Ask For
Across 4,990 open Principal Software Engineering postings that list skills, the ones mentioned most often are cloud, ai, python.
Updated October 8, 2026
5,285 open Principal Software Engineering postings. The percentages below are measured over the 4,990 of them that list skills at all.
| Skill | Mentioned in |
|---|---|
| cloud | 54% |
| ai | 47% |
| python | 38% |
| java | 35% |
| api | 34% |
| automation | 32% |
| ci-cd | 31% |
| distributed-systems | 29% |
| agile | 28% |
| cpp | 27% |
| observability | 27% |
| aws | 25% |
| kubernetes | 21% |
| azure | 20% |
| microservices | 17% |
| devops | 16% |
| machine-learning | 16% |
| linux | 16% |
| agentic-ai | 16% |
| cloud-native | 16% |
| typescript | 16% |
| csharp | 15% |
| docker | 15% |
| sql | 14% |
| networking | 14% |
| javascript | 13% |
| llm | 12% |
| test-automation | 11% |
| react | 11% |
| gcp | 11% |
| analytics | 11% |
| oracle | 11% |
| github | 11% |
| infrastructure-as-code | 10% |
| rest | 10% |
| event-driven-architecture | 10% |
| git | 10% |
| postgresql | 9% |
| accessibility | 9% |
| terraform | 8% |
"Mentioned in" counts postings that name the skill anywhere — including as a nice-to-have — so treat it as the ceiling, not the bar.
Browse 5,285 open Principal Software Engineering jobs →
Across all Software Engineering levels
Most Software Engineering postings never state a level. This wider list covers them too.
- cloud 53,570
- ai 50,387
- api 48,344
- python 45,340
- java 44,909
- ci-cd 37,512
- agile 34,785
- sql 32,765
- automation 32,143
- aws 31,019
- kubernetes 23,657
- azure 23,293