Principal Software Engineer - CTJ - Poly | Microsoft Careers

Overview

Microsoft has an exciting opportunity for a Principal Software Engineer on the Cloud+AI Silver Team. This team will be responsible for deploying and operating services within an air gapped environment, including the infrastructure for collaboration.

This role focuses on software engineering in complex, distributed systems, with close collaboration across teams working on software defined networking and host level services. The ideal candidate brings strong software development fundamentals, practical networking knowledge, and demonstrated experience creating and operating production systems.

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

• Drive architectural design and implementation decisions for software‑defined networking components, balancing tradeoffs across performance, reliability, operability, and long‑term system evolution.
• Lead the development of new features and capabilities, from early design and validation through production rollout, iteration, and sustained operation.
• Lead efforts to analyze service behavior and operational signals across components, translating insights into architectural and operational improvements that strengthen reliability and debuggability at scale.
• Holds accountability as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI), diagnosing and resolving complex production issues that span multiple components or services and contributing to incident mitigation and recovery.
• Influence engineering quality at scale through technical design leadership, rigorous code review practices, and the development of shared libraries, tooling, and patterns that enable consistent, maintainable systems.
• Engage with partner teams and customers during incidents, investigations, and high‑impact networking issues to represent technical state, drive clarity, and support resolution.
• Embody our culture and values.

Qualifications

Required/Minimum 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.

Other Requirements:

Security Clearance Requirements: Candidates must be able 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:  

• The successful candidate must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret Clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) based on a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) with Polygraph. Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required pre-offer and post-hire for this role. Failure to maintain or obtain the appropriate U.S. Government clearance and/or customer screening requirements may result in employment action up to and including termination.
• Clearance Verification: This position requires successful verification of the stated security clearance to meet federal government customer requirements. You will be asked to provide clearance verification information prior to an offer of employment.
• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
• Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This position requires verification of U.S. citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local United States government agency customer and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport, or other approved documents, or verified US government Clearance

Preferred/Additional Qualifications:

• Familiarity with Azure or other large scale cloud platforms or demonstrated ability to ramp up quickly.
• Experience working on software defined networking or platform software.
• Experience contributing to systems where reliability, performance, and operability are important considerations.

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

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. 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 with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

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