This role pays more than
67%
of similar roles. Most pay
$162,037–$216,300
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$209k
versus about
$189k
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
597 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 570 roles with salary data.
The Principal Security Engineer joins the Azure Security DevSec team to secure services within the Microsoft Cloud. In this role, you will perform security reviews and deep dives for cloud-hosted service ecosystems to evaluate risk and improve security posture across design, development, and deployment. You will build security guidance, reference architectures, and remediation strategies while leveraging AI and automation to scale assessments across complex portfolios. The ideal candidate possesses expertise in core areas such as virtualization, memory safety, networking protocols, or kernel security. Required skills include experience in the software development lifecycle, threat modeling, and large-scale computing. Preferred technical proficiencies include identifying vulnerabilities across Azure, AWS, or GCP environments and coding in languages like Python, C#, C++, Go, PowerShell, .NET, or Rust to build and maintain essential security tooling for cloud infrastructure.
What does a Security Engineer earn?
Median $193565 from 98 postings across 44 companies.
Perform security reviews and deep dives for cloud-hosted service ecosystems in Microsoft Azure.
Develop security guidance, reference architectures, and remediation strategies to address systemic architectural anti-patterns.
Influence security outcomes by working with engineers and product leaders to prioritize risks and accelerate improvements.
Leverage AI and automation capabilities to scale security assessments and improve risk identification across portfolios.
Mentor engineering teams and foster secure development practices across the organization.
Lead stakeholder discussions and build long-term partnerships across various Azure organizations.
Create self-service security capabilities to enable engineering teams to manage their own security posture.
What we're looking for
Master's degree in a relevant field and 4+ years of experience in software development lifecycle, large scale computing, threat modeling, cyber security, or anomaly detection.
Bachelor's degree in a relevant field and 6+ years of experience in software development lifecycle, large scale computing, threat modeling, cyber security, or anomaly detection.
Equivalent experience to the specified educational and experience requirements.
Ability to pass Microsoft background and Microsoft Cloud background checks.
Security expertise in at least one core area: virtualization, memory safety (C/C++), Networking protocols, Cloud security, or Kernel security.
Demonstrated hands-on experience identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities across cloud platforms, identity systems, Windows/Linux endpoints, and networks (preferred).
Experience in customer-facing or consulting roles delivering security outcomes to executive audiences (preferred).
5+ years of experience in security assessments, penetration testing, securing cloud environments, or coding/scripting in languages like Python, C#, C++, Go, PowerShell, .NET, or Rust (preferred).
C
C++
Python
Rust
JavaScript
C#
Cryptography
Post-Quantum Cryptography
OpenSSL
Mbed TLS
SymCrypt
Secure Enclave
Boot ROM
Embedded Software
Distributed Systems
Firmware
System Design
Azure