below marketmost similar roles pay hereabove market
This role pays more than
82%
of similar roles. Most pay
$155,575–$195,181
— the blue band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$209k
versus about
$175k
for comparable roles.
Based on 240 similar postings.
Employer
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology leader producing software, hardware, and cloud services including Windows, Office 365, Azure cloud platform, Xbox gaming, and Surface devices. Industry: Software & Cloud Computing
Microsoft currently has
694 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 651 roles with salary data.
The Principal Cloud Network Engineer joins the team to provide expert technical leadership at the intersection of large-scale networking, network validation, live-site operations, software engineering, and AI. This role involves shaping the strategy and architecture for how network operating systems, features, configurations, and operational workflows are tested, deployed, monitored, and continuously improved across a global, multi-vendor environment. You will build extensible, vendor-agnostic testing frameworks, architect network automation and CI/CD systems, and define an artificial intelligence strategy to improve engineering efficiency and reliability. Key responsibilities include leading end-to-end network validation, managing live-site incidents using telemetry and packet captures, and establishing risk-based quality standards. The role solves the technical challenge of scaling wide area network infrastructure to support massive AI GPU cluster demands.
Define and lead end-to-end network validation strategies across operating systems, hardware platforms, and automation services.
Architect vendor-agnostic testing frameworks to validate control-plane convergence, data-plane behavior, and platform stability.
Establish risk-based quality standards, release-readiness criteria, and reproducible lab environments for multi-vendor networks.
Lead technical troubleshooting for complex network failures using telemetry, packet captures, and protocol state analysis.
Build network automation and CI/CD systems including intent-based metadata, drift detection, and automated health gates.
Define and execute an AI strategy to improve engineering efficiency, network operations, and troubleshooting outcomes.
Drive high-impact architectural decisions and establish standards for code quality, observability, and configuration management.
What we're looking for
Obtain a Doctorate with 3+ years, Master's with 4+ years, or Bachelor's with 6+ years of technical experience in network design, development, and automation.
Possess equivalent experience to the degree and years of experience requirements.
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements.
Must pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire and every two years thereafter.
Doctorate with 5+ years, Master's with 8+ years, or Bachelor's with 12+ years of technical experience in network design, development, and automation (preferred).
3+ years of experience delivering network designs into production and experience with live site accountability for a network (preferred).
1+ year(s) of experience developing quality management programs (preferred).
Azure
Network Design
SONiC
Python
Go
C++
Rust
DWDM
Coherent Transport
Optical Circuit Switching
Digital Twins
Robotics
Machine Vision
Mechatronics
Distributed Systems
Traffic Engineering
Merchant Silicon