Microsoft
Principal Cloud Network Engineer
$143K–$304K
Redmond, WA · On-site · Principal · Full-time · Posted Nov 2, 2026
- Experience
- Required: 3+ years with a doctorate, 4+ years with a master’s, or 6+ years with a bachelor’s in network design, development and automation; or equivalent experience. Preferred alternatives: 5+ years with a doctorate, 8+ years with a master’s, or 12+ years with a bachelor’s, or equivalent experience. Other preferred experience includes 3+ years delivering production network designs and live-site accountability.
- Education
- Doctorate, master’s, or bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field; or equivalent experience.
About the job
Shapes and delivers Azure’s next-generation global network architecture, spanning optical, packet and control layers, open hardware, automation, robotics and AI-enabled engineering.
What you'll do
- Own network architecture and guide hardware disaggregation and programmable optical technologies from design through global production deployment.
- Pilot automation and robotics for physical network construction and repair; validate designs and changes with simulation, digital twins and lab automation.
- Apply AI and agents to engineering, lead across internal and external teams, and mentor engineers.
What they ask for
- Doctorate in a listed related field and 3+ years of technical experience in network design, development and automation; or Master’s and 4+ years; or Bachelor’s and 6+ years; or equivalent experience.
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements, including the Microsoft Cloud Background Check.
Nice to have
- 3+ years delivering network designs into production with live-site accountability; 1+ year developing quality management programs.
- Relevant experience in optical networking, large-scale network architecture or infrastructure software; disaggregation, optical technologies, robotics, simulation, AI, supplier roadmaps, or programming in Python, Go, C++ or Rust.
Pay
USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year (base salary); USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year (base salary)
Tools
SONiC, DWDM, 400ZR, 800ZR, Python, Go, C++, Rust
AI focus
Apply AI and agents to engineering across network design, qualification, deployment and operations.
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