NextChapter

Lead Software Engineer salary: median $182,000 a year

Lead Software Engineer listings that state pay run from $153,500 to $196,000 for the middle half, based on 35 current job listings. 325 lead software engineer roles are open now.

Lead Software Engineer pay range

From 35 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter
$153,500
Median
$182,000
Upper quarter
$196,000

Do AI skills change lead software engineer pay?

For Engineering roles in general, as of November 9, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for lead software engineer alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Engineering listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise +19.1% (about $32.5k) compared with similar listings that do not, matched on level and industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$209,000
median, from 3,968 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$152,500
median, from 4,882 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

More pay data: Engineering pay by level, skills that pay more and pay by employer size.

Open lead software engineer jobs

Verified against the employer’s own career site within the last week.

Showing the newest 15 of about 325 verified open jobs here. Search all jobs

All 325 lead software engineer jobs

Engineering jobs in the rankings

Rankings about engineering jobs

Engineering jobs · Top Engineering employers · All rankings

Send this to a friendLinkedInEmail

Related salaries

Lead Software Engineer salary questions

How much does a lead software engineer make?
Among 35 open lead software engineer listings that state pay, the median is $182,000 a year, and half of listings fall between $153,500 and $196,000.
Where does this lead software engineer pay data come from?
From current job listings on employers’ own career sites that state a pay range. Hourly pay is converted at 2,080 hours a year, and a listing’s midpoint is used. Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.

Applying and hearing nothing back?

Find out where you stand: your odds, the jobs that fit you and a plan for the week ahead. Free. No résumé needed.

Already a member? Log in

Get my Market Reality Assessment

Hiring lead software engineer roles and not seeing the right people?

Leave your work email. We'll send how to reach people searching for lead software engineer jobs.

See employer options