Principal Software Engineer

Job description

Are you excited about the potential of AI to revolutionize digital advertising?

Join our team and play a pivotal role in building Advertiser Copilot, an innovative AI-powered assistant designed to help advertisers create and manage their campaigns through a seamless chat-based interface.

Leveraging state-of-the-art Generative AI (GenAI), Advertiser Copilot generates text, image, and video creative assets, making campaign creation efficient and intuitive.

As a **Principal Software Engineer** on our team, you will:

+ Design and develop the core platform for Advertiser Copilot using Semantic Kernel to enable intelligent interactions.
+ Integrate cutting-edge GenAI models for text, image, and video generation, empowering advertisers to craft high-quality creatives effortlessly.
+ Build scalable and efficient AI-driven workflows for campaign management within a chat-based UI.
+ Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including AI researchers, product managers, and UX designers, to deliver an intuitive and powerful advertiser experience.
+ Ensure high system reliability, security, and performance to support a production-grade AI assistant.

This opportunity will allow you to accelerate your career growth, work with the latest advancements in Generative AI, and influence technology development in a high-impact growth area at Microsoft AI.

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.

Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week.

This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

**Responsibilities**

+ Collaborate with stakeholders to determine user requirements for Advertiser Copilot features.
+ Drive the design and development of scalable and secure platforms, ensuring high performance and maintainability.
+ Implement and optimize AI-driven workflows, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness.
+ Lead technical discussions, identify dependencies, and develop design documents.
+ Act as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI), monitoring system reliability and resolving complex issues in real-time.
+ Mentor engineers in the team.
+ Continuously learn and adapt to emerging technologies, improving system availability, reliability, and performance.

**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, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
+ OR equivalent experience.
+ 2+ years experience with Azure/AWS and Kubernetes for container orchestration and deployment.
+ 2+ years experience in REST API development, ensuring secure and scalable communication between systems.

**Other Requirements:**

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role.

These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:

+ **Microsoft Cloud Background Check:** This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

**Preferred Qualifications:**

+ Experience with Semantic Kernel or other AI integration frameworks.
+ Proven ability to build and maintain large-scale, high-availability systems in Kubernetes.
+ Solid collaboration skills, working effectively with cross-functional teams including AI researchers and UX designers.
+ Passion for staying updated with the latest advancements in Generative AI and cloud technologies.

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 and processes offers for these roles on an ongoing basis.

#MicrosoftAI

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