Principal Software Engineer - Cloud Infrastructure

Microsoft

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
Redmond, WA
Salary
$142,800–$274,800 / yr
Posted
15 days ago
Closes
Dec 9, 2026

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $182k
This role $209k
$119k most similar roles pay here $291k

This role pays more than 75% of similar roles. Most pay $154,600–$208,800 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $209k versus about $182k for comparable roles.

Based on 239 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 622 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $119,800–$234,700 across 559 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer - Cloud Infrastructure

As a Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer on the Kubernetes platform team, you will lead the design, development, and operation of cloud-native components focusing on reliability, networking, security, and observability at scale. Your day-to-day responsibilities include driving end-to-end architecture for large-scale distributed systems, ensuring high availability and scalability while fostering engineering excellence through reviews and best practices. You will partner with various teams to define technical strategies and contribute to the development of AI-enabled capabilities in a scalable manner. This role requires expertise in Kubernetes internals, advanced networking patterns, and hands-on experience with distributed systems and cloud infrastructure. Proficiency in languages such as C++, Java, or Python is essential, along with a strong background in operational excellence for live production systems.

What you'll do

  • Lead the design and development of cloud-native platform components focusing on Kubernetes reliability.
  • Drive end-to-end architecture for large-scale distributed systems supporting global services.
  • Ensure high availability and scalability of systems with strong performance and cost efficiency.
  • Provide technical leadership in Kubernetes-based infrastructure, including traffic management.
  • Guide engineering excellence through reviews and implementation of best practices across teams.
  • Contribute to the development of scalable and reliable systems incorporating emerging technologies.
  • Coach engineers on technical growth and raise overall quality standards within the organization.

What we're looking for

  • 6+ years of hands-on software engineering with distributed systems and cloud infrastructure.
  • Deep understanding of Kubernetes internals including control plane, scheduling, networking, and storage.
  • Expertise in advanced Kubernetes networking, traffic management, and reliability patterns.
  • Strong background in designing consistent, fault-tolerant, scalable, and performant distributed systems.
  • Proven experience owning live production systems with incident mitigation and operational excellence.
  • Proficiency in at least one systems language such as Go, C++, or C#.
  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field.

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