Software Engineer Salary 2025

Engineering Levels, Roles, Responsibilities and Global Compensation at Major Tech Companies (2025)

Understanding engineering ladders is essential for planning a career in technology, evaluating offers, and negotiating compensation. Large software companies use level systems to align expectations, scope, and pay. This guide explains the typical engineering levels, the responsibilities at each level, and the approximate total compensation in four major markets: United States, India, United Kingdom, and Canada. The companies covered are Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, NVIDIA, Oracle, Apple, Walmart, and Cisco.

This is intended as a practical career reference, organized so that each company is easy to scan, and a consolidated comparison table follows the company sections.

How to read this guide

• Levels are company-specific labels that map to similar expectations across firms, for example, an SDE II, a Senior Engineer, or a Staff Engineer.
• Experience ranges are typical, not mandated. Promotion depends on impact and scope of responsibility.
• Total compensation includes base salary, bonuses and stock or other long-term incentives, where applicable. Figures are given as ranges to reflect variation across teams, cities and negotiation outcomes.
• Figures are approximate and rounded for clarity.

Common career trajectory summary

Across companies the common progression is:

Entry-level, 0 to 2 years: deliver features, learn systems.
Mid-level, 2 to 5 years: own components, begin mentoring.
Senior, 5 to 8 years: lead subsystems, influence architecture.
Staff/Principal, 8 to 12 years: lead large systems, cross-team impact.
Distinguished/Fellow, 12+ years: company-wide technical leadership and strategy.

Now, company by company.

Microsoft

Levels start commonly at 59 and progress to 70 for the most senior technical leaders. Microsoft supports a deep individual contributor path as well as managerial tracks.

Typical roles and responsibilities

• Level 59, Software Engineer, 0 to 2 years: implement features under guidance, write tests, learn service and deployment practices.
• Level 60, Software Engineer II, 2 to 5 years: own medium sized features end to end, participate in design, work with product and QA.
• Levels 61–62, Senior Software Engineer, 4 to 7 years: lead features and subsystems, mentor junior engineers, make design trade-offs for scaling and reliability.
• Levels 63–64, Principal Engineer, 7 to 12 years: design and own large systems, drive cross-team initiatives, influence product roadmaps.
• Levels 65–67, Partner or Distinguished Engineer, 10+ years: organization-wide technical strategy, long-term platforms and architecture, influence senior leadership.

Approximate total compensation by region (ranges)

• United States: Level 59 $140,000 to $160,000; Level 60 $160,000 to $200,000; Levels 61–62 $200,000 to $250,000; Levels 63–64 $250,000 to $350,000; Levels 65+ $350,000 to $700,000 plus.
• India: Level 59 ₹10 lakh to ₹18 lakh; Level 60 ₹18 lakh to ₹30 lakh; Levels 61–62 ₹30 lakh to ₹50 lakh; Levels 63–64 ₹50 lakh to ₹90 lakh; Levels 65+ ₹90 lakh to multiple crores.
• United Kingdom: mid-high single to low six figures in pounds depending on level and city.
• Canada: mid-range to high five or low six figures CAD depending on level and location.

What advances you: reliable delivery, increasing autonomy, measurable impact, cross-team leadership and consistent mentoring.

Google

Google uses an "L" leveled scale starting at L3 for new grads and L4 for early ICs, with senior and principal levels beyond. Progression emphasizes demonstrated impact and system design at scale.

Typical roles and responsibilities

• L3, Software Engineer I, 0 to 2 years: deliver features, learn internal systems.
• L4, Software Engineer II, 2 to 5 years: design small systems, own services, mentor interns.
• L5, Senior Software Engineer, 5 to 8 years: lead complex services, own reliability and performance improvements.
• L6, Staff Engineer, 8 to 12 years: design major platforms, coordinate across teams and influence product strategy.
• L7 and above, Senior Staff to Distinguished Engineer, 10 to 15+ years: lead technical direction across multiple products and large organizations.

Approximate total compensation by region

• United States: L3 $180,000 to $220,000; L4 $220,000 to $260,000; L5 $280,000 to $400,000; L6 $400,000 to $600,000; L7+ $600,000 to $1,000,000+.
• India: L3 ₹25 lakh to ₹35 lakh; L4 ₹35 lakh to ₹55 lakh; L5 ₹55 lakh to ₹90 lakh; L6 ₹90 lakh to ₹1.5 crore; L7+ ₹1.5 crore and above.
• United Kingdom: mid-six figure pound totals for senior levels, ranges vary by city.
• Canada: midpoint ranges between UK and US equivalents adjusted for local market.

What advances you: large-scale design thinking, cross-team influence, and consistent product impact.

Meta

Meta uses an E-level structure that maps from E3 entry engineers up to E8 and beyond for technical leaders. The company expects engineers to move from execution to architectural leadership.

Typical roles and responsibilities

• E3, Software Engineer, 0 to 2 years: feature development and code ownership within a team.
• E4, Software Engineer II, 2 to 5 years: owns projects and components, mentors more junior engineers.
• E5, Senior Software Engineer, 5 to 8 years: leads projects that affect multiple teams, ensures delivery and quality.
• E6, Staff Engineer, 8 to 12 years: cross-team ownership, technical roadmaps, architecture for large services.
• E7+, Principal and Distinguished Engineers, 12+ years: company-scale technical leadership, research direction, strategic architecture.

Approximate total compensation by region

• United States: E3 $170,000 to $210,000; E4 $210,000 to $260,000; E5 $260,000 to $400,000; E6 $400,000 to $600,000; E7+ $700,000 to $1,200,000+.
• India: E3 ₹20 lakh to ₹35 lakh; E4 ₹35 lakh to ₹50 lakh; E5 ₹50 lakh to ₹80 lakh; E6 ₹80 lakh to ₹1.5 crore; E7+ ₹1.5 crore and above.
• United Kingdom and Canada: follow intermediate bands with location adjustments.

What advances you: measurable end-to-end impact, cross-functional leadership, and strong mentoring and hiring contributions.

Amazon

Amazon defines SDE levels starting at L4 for entry ICs with L5 as the common mid-level, L6 as senior, L7 as principal, and L8 and above for senior principals and distinguished engineers. Amazon emphasizes ownership and measurable outcomes.

Typical roles and responsibilities

• L4, SDE I, 0 to 2 years: implement features within a service, follow practices, fix bugs.
• L5, SDE II, 2 to 5 years: own medium features or services, drive delivery across sprints, mentor juniors.
• L6, Senior SDE, 5 to 8 years: design and own large systems, set standards for scalability and reliability.
• L7, Principal SDE, 8 to 12 years: lead cross-team architecture, align technical strategy with business goals.
• L8 and above, Senior Principal Engineer and Distinguished Engineer, 12+ years: company-wide architecture, large-scale strategic technical leadership.

Approximate total compensation by region

• United States: L4 $120,000 to $150,000; L5 $160,000 to $200,000; L6 $200,000 to $280,000; L7 $300,000 to $450,000; L8+ $400,000 to $700,000+.
• India: L4 ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh; L5 ₹20 lakh to ₹35 lakh; L6 ₹35 lakh to ₹70 lakh; L7 ₹70 lakh to ₹1.5 crore; L8+ ₹1 crore and above.
• United Kingdom and Canada: pay sits between U.S. and India levels with location-specific adjustments.

What advances you: ownership that moves metrics, proven ability to simplify complex systems, and influence beyond your team.

NVIDIA

NVIDIA’s IC ladder typically ranges from entry software and hardware engineers up through senior, staff, principal and distinguished engineer roles. NVIDIA places premium value on domain expertise in areas such as GPU architecture, drivers and machine learning.

Typical roles and responsibilities

• Entry ICs, 0 to 4 years: write device drivers, frameworks, or application code for AI and graphics workloads.
• Senior Software Engineer, 4 to 8 years: lead module design, performance optimization and reliability for GPU or AI infra.
• Staff/Principal Engineer, 8 to 15 years: architect large systems, drive platform design and cross-product initiatives.
• Distinguished Engineer, 15+ years: shape research direction, long-term product platforms and industry-facing innovations.

Approximate total compensation by region

• United States: entry $130,000 to $180,000; senior $200,000 to $280,000; staff/principal $300,000 to $500,000+; distinguished $500,000 to $1,000,000+.
• India: entry ₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh; senior ₹25 lakh to ₹50 lakh; staff/principal ₹50 lakh to ₹1.5 crore; distinguished ₹1.5 crore and above.
• United Kingdom and Canada: similar uplift to senior roles relative to India.

What advances you: deep technical expertise, high impact optimizations and cross-product architectural leadership.

Oracle

Oracle spans enterprise software and cloud services. The engineering ladder ranges from early ICs to senior principal and distinguished engineers focused on platform stability and enterprise features.

Typical roles and responsibilities

• Entry software engineers, 0 to 4 years: develop product modules, unit tests, and participate in integration.
• Senior engineers, 4 to 8 years: lead module or subsystem development and reliability.
• Principal engineers, 8 to 12 years: design architecture across services and products.
• Distinguished engineers, 12+ years: company-wide technical strategy and platform leadership.

Approximate total compensation by region

• United States: entry $110,000 to $150,000; senior $160,000 to $220,000; principal $250,000 to $400,000; distinguished $400,000 to $700,000.
• India: entry ₹8 lakh to ₹20 lakh; senior ₹20 lakh to ₹50 lakh; principal ₹50 lakh to ₹1.5 crore; distinguished ₹1 crore and above.
• U.K. and Canada: intermediate bands.

What advances you: reliability, enterprise-grade architecture, and platform scalability.

Apple

Apple’s IC track uses ICT levels for software engineers. The company emphasizes product quality, design integration, privacy and cross-discipline collaboration.

Typical roles and responsibilities

• ICT2, entry engineers, 0 to 2 years: implement features and learn Apple systems and privacy practices.
• ICT3, mid-level, 2 to 5 years: own features, mentor interns, participate in design.
• ICT4, senior, 4 to 8 years: lead subsystems, collaborate with hardware and design teams.
• ICT5, staff, 7 to 12 years: system-level leadership and cross-functional product architecture.
• ICT6, principal and above, 10+ years: company-wide technical leadership, strategy and platform ownership.

Approximate total compensation by region

• United States: ICT2 $170,000 to $180,000; ICT3 $250,000 to $260,000; ICT4 around $368,000; ICT5 approximately $512,000; ICT6 $744,000 plus.
• India: ICT2 ₹12 lakh to ₹18 lakh; ICT3 ₹25 lakh to ₹40 lakh; ICT4 ₹50 lakh to ₹70 lakh; ICT5 ₹70 lakh to ₹1.2 crore; ICT6 ₹1 crore and above.
• U.K. and Canada: combinations of higher base and equity relative to India.

What advances you: product-quality mindset, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and platform-level leadership.

Walmart Global Tech

Walmart’s technology organization supports large retail and e-commerce systems. Technical levels commonly appear as P1 through P6.

Typical roles and responsibilities

• P1, entry, 0 to 2 years: implement features and test at scale.
• P2, mid-level, 2 to 4 years: own modules and contribute to system reliability.
• P3/P4, senior, 4 to 7 years: lead subsystems, tackle performance and scale.
• P5, staff, 7 to 10 years: cross-team leadership and large system ownership.
• P6, principal, 10+ years: architecture, platform ownership and company-wide initiatives.

Approximate total compensation by region

• United States: P1 $110,000 to $140,000; P2 $150,000 to $200,000; P3/P4 $147,000 to $197,000; P5 $249,000 and up; P6 $300,000 to $400,000+.
• India: P1 ₹8 lakh to ₹12 lakh; P2 ₹12 lakh to ₹20 lakh; P3/P4 ₹20 lakh to ₹35 lakh; P5 ₹35 lakh to ₹60 lakh; P6 ₹60 lakh to ₹1.2 crore.
• U.K. and Canada: intermediate bands.

What advances you: shipping at retail scale, availability, performance, and cross-team orchestration.

Cisco

Cisco’s technical ladder uses explicit grade numbers for software and hardware ICs. Engineering work spans networking, security, and enterprise systems.

Typical roles and responsibilities

• Grade 4, entry, 0 to 2 years: learn systems and deliver features.
• Grade 6, 2 to 4 years: own modules and collaborate cross-team.
• Grade 8, senior, 4 to 7 years: design subsystems and mentor others.
• Grade 10, lead, 7 to 10 years: lead systems and architecture decisions.
• Grade 11/12, principal and senior principal, 10 to 17 years: multiple-product architecture ownership.
• Grade 13, distinguished, 15+ years: technical leadership and industry-guiding architecture.

Approximate total compensation by region

• United States: Grade 4 $118,000; Grade 6 $135,000; Grade 8 $183,000; Grade 10 $223,000; Grade 11 $277,000; Grade 12 $294,000; Grade 13 $485,000 to $700,000+.
• India: Grade 4 ₹8 lakh to ₹12 lakh; Grade 6 ₹12 lakh to ₹20 lakh; Grade 8 ₹20 lakh to ₹35 lakh; Grade 10 ₹35 lakh to ₹60 lakh; Grade 11 ₹55 lakh to ₹90 lakh; Grade 12 ₹80 lakh to ₹1.2 crore; Grade 13 ₹1 crore and above.
• U.K. and Canada: intermediate bands.

What advances you: networking, hardware integration knowledge and cross-product system architecture.

Consolidated Global Comparison Table

The following table consolidates approximate total compensation ranges and experience by level for all nine companies. Use it for side-by-side comparison.

Note: U.K. and Canada columns are summarized as typical ranges when detailed breakdown for each level is not provided. Local taxes and cost of living change effective take-home and local purchasing power.

Practical career advice derived from the ladder

1. Focus early on fundamentals, production readiness, testing, monitoring and communication. Those skills compound.
2. To move from mid-level to senior, demonstrate ownership of larger components and measurable wins, for example reduced latency, improved reliability, or cost savings.
3. To advance from senior to staff/principal, expand scope to multiple teams, lead architecture, and make cross-team projects succeed.
4. At principal and distinguished levels, the function is to enable others to scale, to set standards and to ensure long term technical strategy.
5. When negotiating offers, ask level, scope, total compensation breakdown (base, bonus, equity), equity vesting schedule and refresh cadence.
6. Geographic moves change pay, but also opportunities for high equity value exist in some locations and teams. Consider total comp and career trajectory, not only base salary.

This guide is intended as a practical, consolidated resource. It presents typical experience, responsibilities and compensation ranges for engineers at nine major technology companies in four markets. Use the company sections and the comparison table to benchmark offers, assess career progression and set personal milestones.