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Core Traits of a Principal Engineer
ScaleUp Recruitment
April 14, 2025
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Every week we speak to many Principal Engineers, Staff Engineers, Senior Engineers and Technology Leaders across Australia.
A big passion of what we do here at ScaleUp Recruitment is to help the industry gain access to valuable insights and information collated from tech leaders, industry professionals and Principal / Staff Engineers.
As the popularity of the role of Principal Engineer (PE) is adopted by companies across Australia more and more, we’ve seen many differences across the responsibilities and impact the role has within businesses.
Influence is the secret weapon of a great Principal Engineer. It’s what turns technical expertise into impact, ensuring that great ideas don’t just exist but actually get implemented.
Unlike leadership by title, influence is about guiding decisions, aligning teams, and shaping strategy without relying on authority. The best Principal Engineers don’t just make recommendations they inspire trust, build consensus, and lead people to the right technical outcomes.
At its core, influence comes from credibility, consistency, and relationships. It’s built through deep technical expertise, a track record of good decisions, and the ability to navigate complex conversations. A Principal Engineer knows when to push, when to listen, and when to compromise without losing sight of the bigger picture.
This means influencing in all directions:
Downward, by mentoring engineers, guiding teams, and fostering technical excellence.
Upward, by helping leadership make informed decisions and advocating for engineering priorities.
Across, by aligning with product, business, and design teams to drive a shared vision.
The best technical ideas don’t always win on merit alone they need champions who can advocate, persuade, and bring people along for the journey. Influence isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room, it’s about being the most respected one.
A Principal Engineer who masters influence doesn’t just drive technical success, they shape the future of engineering in their organisation.
Core Traits of a Principal Engineer
(Note: Thanks to all the Principal Engineers and technology leaders we’ve spoken to and provided their thoughts and knowledge. It’s this information we forge the articles around!)
In the world of technology, Principal Engineers are the architects of innovation, bridging the gap between deep technical expertise and high-level strategic thinking. They aren’t just problem-solvers – they’re problem-preventers. Often vision-setters, cultural influencers, and the ones who quietly steer the ship through choppy waters. But what exactly makes a great Principal Engineer?
After speaking with dozens of real Principal Engineers from across industries, we've distilled their insights into ten core traits that define the best in the business → and how to grow into them.
1. Technical Excellence
A Principal Engineer isn’t just “good” at their craft, they are exceptional. They have an almost instinctive grasp of system design, architecture, and scalability. They can navigate trade-offs like cost vs performance or simplicity vs extensibility in their sleep.
“You want someone who can design across the stack and understand how it integrates with infrastructure end-to-end.”
How to develop it:
Stay sharp with new technologies, architectural patterns, and industry best practices.
Work on complex system designs and analyse trade-offs in scalability and performance.
Contribute to open-source projects or lead technical initiatives within your organisation.
2. Strategic Thinking
Great Principal Engineers don’t just focus on the next release and fix the now. They think in five-year horizons and know that every short-term hack has long term consequences.
“Great ones think about the team, the business, and how to maximise the people around them.”
How to develop it:
Study business strategy, product management, and tech economics.
Get involved in roadmap planning and engage in cross functional discussions to gain a better understanding.
Think about how today's decisions affect the org in 6, 12, or 24 months.
3. Strong Communication
Principal Engineers articulate complex technical concepts to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders in a way that makes sense. They can tailor their message whether they're talking to junior devs, execs, or marketing.
“You need to be able to talk to non-technical people in plain English and translate business needs for technical teams.”
How to develop it:
Practice explaining complex concepts simply.
Write documentation, blog posts, or even give tech talks to refine your articulation.
Listen more than you speak.
4. Mentorship & Influence
Principal Engineers are force multipliers. Great PEs proactively mentor engineers, foster engineering best practices, and ensure that technical excellence is woven into the DNA of the teams. They inspire teams by leading through influence rather than authority.
“A good PE gets the job done. A great one empowers the whole team to do better.”
How to develop it:
Mentor formally or informally.
Take initiative in driving technical excellence and best practices.
Be the calm, approachable go-to when problems hit.
5. Ownership & Accountability
They don’t pass the buck. Principal Engineers own outcomes. When things go south, they roll up their sleeves and sort it out.
“You take ownership of the product. You don’t hide behind someone telling you to build it.”
How to develop it:
Step into difficult problems instead of waiting to be assigned.
Lead feedback sessions and take responsibility for learning from failures.
Be proactive about system health, quality, and delivery.
6. Bias for Action with Measured Risk
Perfection is the enemy of progress. PEs make bold, pragmatic choices that move the needle without blowing up the system.
“Some PEs get stuck in theory. The great ones get stuff done.”
How to develop it:
Make calls under uncertainty with a risk-aware lens.
Learn fast from small failures.
Align closely with stakeholders to weigh trade-offs.
7. Adaptability & Learning Mindset
Technology evolves. So do great engineers. They’re voracious learners who live slightly ahead of the curve.
“The ones who shrink their ego and say ‘I don’t know’ are always learning something new.”
How to develop it:
Cultivate curiosity. Explore new tools, languages, and paradigms.
Attend meetups, read blogs, join internal interest groups.
Reflect on what you don’t know often.
8. Cross-Functional Collaboration
Principal Engineers are the connective tissue across functions. They don’t just write code but align efforts between product, design, marketing, compliance, and more.
“You’re not building software for the sake of it – you’re building it for the market.”
How to develop it:
Build relationships across departments.
Join cross-functional planning sessions.
Learn to speak different team languages (business, UX, devs, ops, C suite).
9. High Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Tech chops will get you far but it’s only one part of the three core Principal Engineering fundamental areas. Emotional intelligence gets you listened to, trusted, and followed.
“Stay calm under pressure. Be the base people come to in a storm.”
How to develop it:
Work on self-awareness and emotional regulation.
Solicit feedback. Practice empathy. Assume good intent.
Coach, don’t command.
10. Visionary Leadership
Finally, a Principal Engineer doesn’t just solve problems they define the future. They see where technology is going and then have the ability to steer the ship accordingly.
“They’re like the conductor of a technical symphony – pulling everything together so the end result sings.”
How to develop it:
Identify trends early and model potential impact.
Champion long-term architectural investments.
Lead by example and inspire belief.
The ScaleUp Opinion: Summary
A Principal Engineer isn’t just a senior dev with a bigger salary. They’re strategic leaders without the job title. They write code, yes. But they also write the future.
The best Principal Engineers don’t just solve problems - they build environments where fewer problems happen in the first place. They scale teams, shape culture, and bring clarity to chaos.
If you’re looking to step into that role or grow in it, focus less on what you know and more on how you use what you know to elevate others. Excellence is impact.
🚀 We are always keen to chat about any points raised in the Principal{s} newsletter. Let us know if you want to chat!
👩💻 Principal-Level Role: Early-Stage FinTech
🚀 The Company:
An early-stage Aussie FinTech shaking up how wholesale investors access real estate debt investments. They’re simplifying a complex, opaque space with a modern, transparent platform.
🧠 The Problem:
They're building a full-stack investment platform from scratch. It needs to process a lot of data, scale with demand, and stay secure. The current team is lean, and while the CTO is hands-on, they need a Principal Engineer to help architect the system, lead technical decision-making, and mentor a growing team.
🎯 Why You?
You know your way around Java and Spring Boot, you’ve worked across the stack, and you're the kind of engineer who thrives on ownership. You’ll design systems, guide strategy, and build a rock-solid product with a real-world impact without wading through layers of bureaucracy.
📍 Location: Sydney CBD
💡 Stack: Java, Spring Boot, MySQL, AWS, modern front-end frameworks
🤝 Reporting to: The CTO
🤝 Salary Range: $200k - $250k + Super
Reply to this email with your details if you want to know more yourself
We are constantly collating information from Principal & Staff Engineers, a hot topic is always salary levels and compensation. Every month we will provide you with a snapshot of the base salaries over the last 12 months from Principal Engineers.
Mean: Average salary level based on the data we have obtained,
Median: Middle salary when all salaries are put in order.
If you are a Principal or Staff Engineer we want to hear your thoughts! Take part in our Principals Questionnaire to have your say and share your knowledge on being a top Principal Engineer.
Every newsletter we will give you a snapshot of companies currently hiring for Principal Engineers but for the first edition we want to give an overview of the companies across Australia currently employing the most Principal & Staff Engineers.
Principal Engineers
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*LinkedIn Talent Insights 2025.
This Newsletter is brought to you by the ScaleUp Recruitment Team, we’re always interested in a chat so feel free to give us a call. If you are looking for a new position send us your resume and we look forward to speaking to you soon.
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