A senior product manager who owns strategy for a major product line or platform, guiding several teams and often other product managers. Levels.fyi company pages (Microsoft, Amazon) puts typical pay at $334,262 a year (2026). BLS does not publish separate figures for information technology project managers; it counts them within information technology project manager (SOC 15-1299), whose median pay is $116,580 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- SOC 15-1299
- Computer and Mathematical
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Principal Product Manager in four numbers
- Median pay
- $116,580a year, or $56.05/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $56KTop 10% $188K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +5.1%Faster than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+5.1%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +5.1% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 27,000471,200 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 2025471.2K
- Projected 2035495.3K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 471.2K Projected 2035 495.3K - Typical education
- Bachelor'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
- Certificate9.5%
- Associate's23.8%
- Bachelor's38.1%
- Post-bacc certificate19.1%
- Master's9.5%
Highest education held by information technology project managers Segment Value Certificate 9.5% Associate's 23.8% Bachelor's 38.1% Post-bacc certificate 19.1% Master's 9.5%
Also advertised as: Group Product Manager, Principal PM, Lead Product Manager, Senior Principal Product Manager.
Pay
How much do Information Technology Project Managers make?
Industry-reported pay
$334,262
Average total compensation (base, bonus and stock) for Principal PM (level 65) at Microsoft, US; high is Amazon L7 Principal Product Manager. Self-reported.
- Top earners
- $475,000
Source: Levels.fyi company pages (Microsoft, Amazon), 2026 (estimate from several industry sources). This is not a BLS figure: BLS counts information technology project managers within information technology project manager, whose pay is shown below. Levels.fyi: Microsoft Product Manager Level 65 (Principal PM) · Levels.fyi: Amazon Product Manager Salaries
Every principal product manager in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$116,580
Middle half earn $79,370 to $157,500
- 10th
- $55,940
- 25th
- $79,370
- 75th
- $157,500
- 90th
- $188,470
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $55,940 |
| 25th | $79,370 |
| Median | $116,580 |
| 75th | $157,500 |
| 90th | $188,470 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $116,580
- Median hourly wage
- $56.05/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $122,230
- People employed
- 435,370
Versus all US occupations
At $116,580, Information Technology Project Managers earn 129% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $65,600 a year.
Versus computer and mathematical occupations
The median is typical for the Computer and Mathematical group, where the middle occupation pays $116,580.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $188,470 or more while the bottom 10% earn $55,940, a gap of 3.4×. That is an unusually wide spread, which usually tracks specialisation, employer type and years of experience.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 82% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
District of Columbia pays the most at $156,590, and still leads at $142,483 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Information Technology Project Managers the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1District of Columbia | $156,590 | $142,483 | 17,200 |
| 2Maryland | $144,680 | $137,844 | 19,060 |
| 3Colorado | $139,580 | $135,446 | 11,800 |
| 4Virginia | $139,030 | $137,512 | 17,000 |
| 5Delaware | $137,470 | $137,734 | 860 |
| 6California | $134,440 | $121,423 | 80,150 |
| 7Washington | $128,940 | $120,490 | 14,360 |
| 8Connecticut | $127,720 | $123,270 | 3,100 |
| 9New Mexico | $127,090 | $137,824 | 1,650 |
| 10Hawaii | $120,100 | $109,230 | 2,080 |
Job outlook
Is Principal Product Manager a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Faster than average. +5.1% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Information Technology Project Managers | +5.1% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Faster than average
BLS projects employment of Information Technology Project Managers to change 5.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 24,200 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 27,000 openings are projected each year, 5.7% of the 471,200 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Principal Product Manager
Most principal product managers have a bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, business or a related field, and many hold an MBA. They typically spend years as product managers and senior product managers, often after starting in engineering, consulting or analytics.
Promotion depends on shipping products with measurable results and leading work that spans several teams. People get there by owning a high-impact product, building trust with engineering and executive leaders, and showing they can set strategy instead of just executing a roadmap. There is no required certification, though some take courses from product management training programs.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
None
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Medium preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as information technology project managers.
- Bachelor's Degree38.1%
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree23.8%
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate19.1%
- Post-Secondary Certificate9.5%
- Master's Degree9.5%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree | 38.1% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 23.8% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 19.1% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 9.5% |
| Master's Degree | 9.5% |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
The work
What does a Principal Product Manager do?
Principal product managers sit above senior product managers at most tech companies. They own the direction of a large product, platform or business line: which customers to serve, which problems to solve first, and how the product will make money or support the company's goals. They write the strategy documents and roadmaps that several engineering teams follow.
The job is about judgment and influence. Principal PMs analyze market and usage data, talk to customers, negotiate tradeoffs with engineering and design leaders, and make the case for investment to executives. At some companies the role includes managing a small group of product managers, in which case it may be called group product manager.
Day-to-day tasks
- Set strategy and multi-year roadmaps for a major product area
- Analyze usage data, market trends and competitors
- Interview customers to understand needs and problems
- Negotiate priorities with engineering, design and business leaders
- Write product requirement and strategy documents
- Present investment cases and results to executives
- Mentor and sometimes manage other product managers
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Principal product managers work at software, internet, cloud and enterprise technology companies. The work is desk-based, usually hybrid, and dominated by meetings, documents and customer conversations. Travel for customer visits and planning offsites is common, and launches and planning seasons bring long days.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayOutdoors in all weather
NeverEvery dayAlmost never works outdoors.
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeSeated for more than half the working day.
Standing
NeverAlmost all the timeBending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantConstant contact with other people.
Face-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayDealing with the public
Not importantExtremely important
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayMeeting strict deadlines at least weekly.
Conflict situations
NeverEvery dayHandling conflict situations at least monthly.
Cost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely serious
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Critical Thinking4.1
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Writing4.0
- Speaking3.9
- Monitoring3.6
- Active Learning3.4
- Learning Strategies3.0
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 4.1 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 |
| Active Listening | 4.0 |
| Writing | 4.0 |
| Speaking | 3.9 |
| Monitoring | 3.6 |
| Active Learning | 3.4 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.0 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Coordination4.0
- Time Management4.0
- Management of Personnel Resources3.9
- Systems Analysis3.8
- Judgment and Decision Making3.6
- Systems Evaluation3.5
- Social Perceptiveness3.4
- Negotiation3.4
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Coordination | 4.0 |
| Time Management | 4.0 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | 3.9 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.8 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.6 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.5 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.4 |
| Negotiation | 3.4 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Analytical or scientific software · in demand
- Application server software · in demand
- Business intelligence and data analysis software · in demand
- Cloud-based data access and sharing software · in demand
- Cloud-based management software · in demand
- Computer aided design CAD software · in demand
- Configuration management software · in demand
- Customer relationship management CRM software · in demand
- Data base management system software · in demand
- Data base reporting software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Data mining software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Principal Product Manager?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code EIA) built on O*NET's Information Technology Project Manager profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Principal Product Manager |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 2 |
| Investigative | 4 |
| Artistic | 3 |
| Social | 3 |
| Enterprising | 6 |
| Conventional | 5 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around leading, persuading, selling and making decisions, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.
- Enterprising5.9
- Conventional5.0
- Investigative4.3
- Artistic2.7
- Social2.7
- Realistic1.7
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Principal Product Manager
O*NET related occupations
- Computer and Mathematical
- Business and Financial Operations
- Business and Financial Operations
- Management
- Computer and Mathematical
- Computer and Mathematical
More computer and mathematical careers
Median annual pay, with information technology project managers highlighted
- Software Developer$135,980
- Actuary$130,000
- Data Scientist$120,230
- Business Intelligence Analyst$120,230
- Principal Product Manager$116,580
- Database Administrator$104,620
- Web Designer$104,000
- Computer Programmer$100,390
- Web Developer$92,650
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Software Developer | $135,980 |
| Actuary | $130,000 |
| Data Scientist | $120,230 |
| Business Intelligence Analyst | $120,230 |
| Principal Product Manager | $116,580 |
| Database Administrator | $104,620 |
| Web Designer | $104,000 |
| Computer Programmer | $100,390 |
| Web Developer | $92,650 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Principal Product Manager appears on
Questions
Principal Product Manager: frequently asked questions
How much do Information Technology Project Managers make?
Levels.fyi company pages (Microsoft, Amazon) reports $334,262 (average total compensation (base, bonus and stock) for Principal PM (level 65) at Microsoft, US; high is Amazon L7 Principal Product Manager. Self-reported, 2026), with top earners around $475,000. BLS does not publish a separate wage for information technology project managers. It counts them within information technology project manager, whose median pay is $116,580 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $79,370 and $157,500, and the top 10% earn $188,470 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Principal Product Manager?
Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Information Technology Project Managers, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 38.1% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Principal Product Manager a growing career?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5.1% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 27,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Principal Product Manager do?
Principal product managers sit above senior product managers at most tech companies. A typical task: set strategy and multi-year roadmaps for a major product area. Employers most often ask for Analytical or scientific software, Application server software, Business intelligence and data analysis software.
Which states pay Information Technology Project Managers the most?
The highest state medians for Information Technology Project Managers are District of Columbia ($156,590), Maryland ($144,680), Colorado ($139,580) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Principal Product Manager?
O*NET scores Information Technology Project Managers highest on the Enterprising, Conventional and Investigative interest areas, so the work mixes leading, persuading, selling and making decisions with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ENTJ, ESTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.