I can only speak for American companies but if you work for American companies (startup or public) you should be able to find staff/principle engineer roles in

I can only speak for American companies but if you work for American companies (startup or public) you should be able to find staff/principle engineer roles in orgs that allow you to remain hands on and have the same salary caps that VPs or CTOs have. Every org is different though so it will take some shopping around to find one that fits you well. But I'm positive there are many orgs looking for folks like yourself.