Principal Software Engineer

Job description

We are looking for a **Principal Software Engineer** to join our Microsoft AI – Copilot Discover – Knowledge Agent backend platform team, contributing to projects related to agentic vertical content generation pipelines, AI model serving pipeline, data ingestion, caching, and serving.

This platform powers backend support for verticals such as weather, finance, sports, and potentially others, delivering content across Microsoft canvases including Copilot, Edge, MSN, and Windows, reaching over 1B+ customers globally.

The ideal candidate is passionate about backend engineering and skilled at building highly distributed, high-volume, and reliable service platforms in the cloud.

Experience with cloud storage, distributed task orchestration, and large-scale data processing is required, with proficiency on Azure or equivalent technologies on AWS and GCP (e.g., S3, Cloud Storage, Kafka, Kubernetes).

You will provide technical leadership, drive engineering excellence, and deliver robust and scalable solutions that directly impact global users, while continually improving platform KPIs.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals.

Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

**Responsibilities**

+ Design, develop, test, and deploy data ingestion, pre/post processing, caching, and serving pipelines.
+ Architect and implement scalable backend services with solid reliability and performance guarantees.
+ Deploy algorithms and ML/DL models using containers and schedulers.
+ Collaborate with scientists, engineers, and product managers to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
+ Provide technical leadership and mentorship to peers.
+ Ensure code quality, performance, reliability, and scalability of platform components.
+ Troubleshoot and resolve issues in production and development environments.
+ Participate in DRI on-call duties.

**Qualifications**

**Required Qualifications:**

+ 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#, .NET, or equivalents (e.g., Java, Go, Node.js)
+ OR equivalent experience.
+ 5+ years of direct experience delivering, scaling, and owning highly successful and innovative multi-tiered distributed services.
+ 5+ years experience improving service availability and robustness.
+ 5+ years of hands-on experience with cloud storage, distributed task orchestration, and large-scale data processing systems on major cloud platforms (e.g., AWS S3, GCP Cloud Storage, Kafka, Kubernetes, Azure).

**Preferred Qualifications:**

+ Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C#, .NET, or equivalents (e.g., Java, Go, Node.js)
+ OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 10+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C#, .NET, or equivalents (e.g., Java, Go, Node.js)
+ OR equivalent experience.
+ Experience working through full product cycles from initial design to final delivery.
+ Hands-on experience with deep learning model deployment and performance tuning.
+ Familiarity with DevOps practices, CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code tools.
+ Knowledge of authentication and authorization mechanisms (e.g., AAD, certificates).
+ Solid communication and leadership skills with a track record of cross-team collaboration.

Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 per year.

There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation.

Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until November 3, 2025.

#MicrosoftAI #TechLeadership #CloudComputing #DistributedSystems #CloudInfrastructure

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer.

Consistent with applicable law, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances.

If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html) .

Required Skill Profession

Other General