Microsoft
Principal Software Engineer
$143K–$304K
Redmond, WA · On-site · Principal · Full-time · Posted Oct 27, 2026
- Experience
- Required: 6+ years technical engineering experience; preferred alternatives: 8+ years with a Master's Degree, or 12+ years with a Bachelor's Degree, or equivalent experience.
- Education
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field, or equivalent experience.
About the job
Provides technical leadership in designing and evolving distributed cloud platforms, including systems that use AI and automation to improve service operations.
What you'll do
- Set architecture and technical strategy for large-scale distributed cloud platforms across services and teams.
- Lead design and delivery of AI- and automation-enabled systems for monitoring, investigating, diagnosing, and operating cloud services.
- Define reusable platform capabilities and engineering standards; mentor engineers and drive operational excellence.
What they ask for
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements, including the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
Nice to have
- Master's Degree plus 8+ years of technical engineering experience, or Bachelor's Degree plus 12+ years, or equivalent experience.
- Experience with large-scale distributed systems, AI-assisted systems or automation, observability, orchestration, or extensible platforms.
Pay
USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year (base salary); USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year (base salary)
Tools
C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python
AI focus
Design systems using AI and automation to improve cloud-service monitoring, investigation, diagnosis, and operations; preferred experience includes AI-assisted systems, AI agents, machine learning, or intelligent automation.
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative