Lead Software Engineer salary
9 market ranges · employer-stated pay · updated Oct 23, 2026
The best-evidenced figure here is for lead software engineer roles at senior level across the United States: 151 postings where the employer stated pay put the middle half between $156,844 and $206,000, with a median of $177,700.
Every range here is counted from real postings, never modelled. 5 of the 9 ranges in the table rest on fewer than 10 postings and are marked hint: treat those as hints rather than benchmarks.
Lead Software Engineer pay by specialization
Software Engineering 80Full-stack Engineering 10Engineering Leadership 4Backend Engineering 1QA & Test 1Embedded & Firmware 1
Live lead software engineer roles by software function. A title spans functions; each link opens that function's own benchmark.
Every measured range
9 by market and level| Market | Level | Market range | Median | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States · country-wide | Senior | $156,844 – $206,000 | $177,700 | 151 |
| Canada · country-wide | Senior | CA$144,925 – CA$193,000 | CA$165,300 | 8hint |
| United Kingdom · country-wide | Senior | £73,375 – £83,770 | £78,000 | 6hint |
| Remote · United States | Senior | $143,125 – $187,625 | $180,800 | 22 |
| Boston | Senior | $174,575 – $210,200 | $180,800 | 6hint |
| Chicago | Senior | $157,300 – $187,518 | $178,800 | 11 |
| New York | Senior | $181,975 – $251,250 | $226,450 | 12 |
| San Francisco | Senior | $229,150 – $252,275 | $229,150 | 5hint |
| Toronto | Senior | CA$147,975 – CA$201,000 | CA$177,000 | 6hint |
Entry is junior titles. Mid is mid-level and manager titles. Senior is senior titles. Lead is director, VP and above. Rows marked hint rest on fewer than 10 postings: read them as a hint, not a benchmark.
Ranges span the 25th to 75th percentile of employer-stated base pay for the market and level. Median is the 50th percentile. Sample is the number of postings measured.
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Pay by market
6 pagesBostonChicagoNew YorkSan FranciscoTorontoRemote
Open lead software engineer roles · 94 with stated pay
this job's paywhere most pay sits here, $118,150–$253,000scale $70,000–$360,000
Lead Software Engineer - NBA Humana · Remote · US New $129,300–$177,800 1d ago 
Lead Software Engineer (Hybrid) 8th Light · London New £76,023–£95,029 2d ago 
Lead Software Engineer Nubank · Palo Alto New $230,000–$276,000 2d ago 
Lead Software Engineer, Search (Semantic Platform) Bigcommerce · Remote · US New $182,000–$259,000 3d ago 
Lead Software Engineer - Technical Track UL Research Institutes · Washington DC $131,186–$180,381 5d ago 
Sr. Lead Software Engineer Klaviyo · Boston $216,000–$324,000 8d ago Lead Software Engineer (Test & Verification) Boeing · Oklahoma City $118,150–$159,850 9d ago 
Senior Lead Software Engineer – Custody & Securities Processing Statestreet · Quincy $120,000–$217,500 10d ago Team Lead Software Engineer, VP Statestreet · Burlington Massachusetts $120,000–$202,500 11d ago Lead Software Engineer Disney · Lake Buena Vista $150,500–$201,800 2w ago Lead Software Engineer Disney (Disneycareerdc) · Lake Buena Vista $150,500–$201,800 2w ago Lead Software Engineer – AI-Assisted Development Leidos · Huntsville $131,300–$237,350 2w ago 
Lead Software Engineer northwoodspace · Los Angeles $174,000–$260,000 2w ago 
Lead Software Engineer, AI Agents & Orchestration Allegion · Carmel $154,450–$205,000 3w ago Lead Software Engineer-Simulation Boeing · Berkeley $198,050–$267,950 3w ago Lead Software Engineer Leidos · Albuquerque $87,100–$157,450 3w ago Lead Software Engineer Tmhcc (ProAg) · Maple Grove $155,000–$165,000 3w ago Lead Software Engineer Cat (CaterpillarCareers) · Kosice From €52,824 3w ago Corporate Functions Lead Software Engineer – VP III Statestreet · Boston $120,000–$217,500 3w ago 
Lead Software Engineer Appian Corporation · McLean $150,000–$300,000 3w ago 
Lead Software Engineer - IBM iSeries Cox · Atlanta GA $122,600–$204,400 3w ago Lead Software Engineer Mastercard · Arlington $161,000–$266,000 3w ago Lead Software Engineer Mastercard · O'Fallon $140,000–$231,000 3w ago Lead Software Engineer Mastercard · O'Fallon $140,000–$231,000 3w ago Lead Software Engineer Mastercard · O'Fallon $140,000–$231,000 4w ago Lead Software Engineer Slate Auto · Remote · US $141,807–$212,710 4w ago Lead Principal Software Engineer, Core Infrastructure Eeho · Seattle $135,200–$306,400 4w ago Lead Software Engineer Mastercard · O'Fallon $140,000–$231,000 4w ago 
Lead Software Engineer Cadence · San Jose $119,000–$221,000 4w ago 
Lead Software Engineer, Full-Stack Applications - Innovation Teams Fitch · Toronto CA$180,000–CA$230,000 4w ago 
Lead Software Engineer, AI Email Applications, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Required - Work From Home Next Step Systems · Remote · US $175,000–$195,000 4w ago 
Sr Lead Software Engineer - AI Security Platform Ntrs · Chicago $114,500–$194,700 4w ago Sr Lead Software Engineer, AI Security Platform Ntrs · Chicago $114,500–$194,700 4w ago 
Lead Software Engineer Unite Us · United States $160,000–$190,000 4w ago Lead Software Engineer Mastercard · O'Fallon $140,000–$231,000 4w ago Lead Software Engineer, Full-Stack Applications - Ratings Technology Fitch · Toronto CA$160,000–CA$200,000 5w ago Lead Software Engineer, Full-Stack Applications - Ratings Technology Fitch · Toronto CA$180,000–CA$230,000 5w ago 
Staff Tech Lead Software Engineer, Vehicle Realism Platform Waymo · Mountain View $251,000–$310,000 5w ago Lead Software Engineer Cadence · Burlington $101,500–$188,500 5w ago lead software engineer Cadence · Burlington $101,500–$188,500 5w ago 
Lead Software Engineer - Maritime Sonar Systems(Minimum $10k Sign-On Bonus) L3Harris Technologies · Camden $158,500–$275,000 5w ago Lead Software Engineer — R&D Productivity Tools SEL · Washington $107,600–$161,500 5w ago Lead Software Engineer - Full Stack + Kubernetes SEL · Washington $107,600–$161,500 5w ago Lead Software Engineer Empower · Remote · US $114,000–$165,300 5w ago Lead Software Engineer - Cloud & Software Defined Storage Solutions (C++) NetApp · Morrisville $170,000–$253,000 5w ago Lead Software Engineer - Low-Power Verification Cadence · San Jose $114,800–$213,200 5w ago Lead Software Engineer - Low Power Verification Cadence · San Jose $114,800–$213,200 5w ago Lead Software Engineer, CICD Klaviyo · Boston $176,000–$264,000 5w ago Lead Software Engineer Cadence · San Jose $114,800–$213,200 6w ago Lead Software Engineer Grainger · Chicago $134,100–$223,500 6w ago Lead Software Engineer – Investment Analytics, VP - State Street Investment Management Statestreet · Boston $110,000–$188,750 6w ago 
Lead Software Engineer Kcura · Illinois $150,000–$224,000 6w ago Modeling and Simulation Lead Software Engineer Leidos · Beavercreek $87,100–$157,450 6w ago Lead Software Engineer Bonterra · Remote · US $130,000–$145,000 7w ago 
Lead Software Engineer, Data & Cloud Pariveda · Houston $105,400–$115,900 7w ago 
Lead Software Engineer- Uplink Systems JPL · JPL Campus $170,872–$215,384 7w ago Lead Software Engineer – IBM z/OS - Connex Advantage Clearing and Settlement Visa · Denver $163,500–$261,500 7w ago Senior Lead Software Engineer, Backend DraftKings · Remote · US $160,700–$200,900 7w ago 
Tech Lead Software Engineer, Fleet Connectivity nuro · Mountain View $193,930–$291,150 8w ago 
Lead Software Engineer – Real-Time Events zetaglobal · Remote · US $200,000–$210,000 8w ago 60 of 97 open roles. All lead software engineer jobs