Microsoft
Principal Security Operations Engineer
$143K–$304K
Redmond, WA · On-site · Principal · Full-time · Posted Sep 22, 2026
- Experience
- Required: 3+ years with a doctorate, 4+ years with a master’s, or 6+ years with a bachelor’s in one or more listed fields; equivalent experience accepted. Preferred: 5+ years with a doctorate, 8+ years with a master’s, or 12+ years with a bachelor’s in listed fields; equivalent experience accepted. Also preferred: 6+ years in cybersecurity or related areas.
- Education
- Doctorate, master’s, or bachelor’s in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related field; or equivalent experience.
About the job
Leads security incident response for Microsoft Quantum and defines the requirements and operating model for an AI-enabled security operations center.
What you'll do
- Direct cybersecurity and insider-threat incidents from detection and investigation through containment, recovery, root-cause analysis, and closure.
- Coordinate cross-functional response and translate incident lessons into improved detections, controls, procedures, and monitoring.
- Define and guide implementation of an AI-enabled SOC, including its architecture, capabilities, auditability, and sensitive-data controls.
What they ask for
- Doctorate in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of relevant experience; or master’s and 4+ years; or bachelor’s and 6+ years; or equivalent experience.
- Meet Microsoft security screening requirements, including the Microsoft Cloud Background Check.
- Provide proof of citizenship, U.S. permanent residency, or other protected status for export-controlled information access; citizenship is verified with a valid passport, with other documents applicable to lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.
Nice to have
- Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISA, CISM, SANS, OSCP, or Security+; experience leading complex security incidents and using Microsoft Sentinel (KQL) or an equivalent SIEM.
- Experience with agentic AI or LLM-based security automation; familiarity with insider-threat platforms, post-quantum cryptography, CNSA 2.0, or export-control environments.
Pay
USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year (base salary); USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year (base salary)
Tools
Microsoft Sentinel, KQL, SIEM, Purview, DTEX, Proofpoint ITM, Magnet Axiom, Forcepoint
AI focus
Defines and drives an AI-enabled SOC, including AI support for signal enrichment, triage, investigation, response recommendations, and analyst decision-making, with auditability and data-handling controls.
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative