This role pays more than
69%
of similar roles. Most pay
$169,550–$220,800
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$209k
versus about
$195k
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
598 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 586 roles with salary data.
As a Principal Software Engineer - CoreAI, you will join the team to build and evolve distributed services that underpin massive training runs while improving iteration loops for researchers and engineers. You will apply advanced performance optimization techniques to impact product quality and operational excellence while developing deep expertise in ML systems, AI infrastructure, and compute orchestration. Your daily work involves leading architecture discussions, mentoring others on code quality, and integrating Responsible AI practices into the software development lifecycle. You will utilize technologies including C, C++, C#, Python, Java, and JavaScript, alongside specialized tools like vLLM, SGLang, VERL, Slime, and Ray. The role focuses on solving complex problems in distributed training infrastructure, GPU computing, and container workloads to optimize model performance and inference systems within a cloud software environment.
What does a Software Engineer earn?
Median $197500 from 2196 postings across 133 companies.
Build and evolve distributed services that support massive training runs and improve researcher iteration loops.
Apply advanced performance optimization techniques to enhance product quality and operational excellence.
Develop and implement AI-native tools and practices across the software development lifecycle.
Lead the architecture, design, and testing of complex products while ensuring scalability and cost efficiency.
Mentor team members on coding best practices, including maintainability, security, and performance.
Manage project roadmaps by breaking down long-term visions into milestones and coordinating with stakeholders.
Maintain live site services and lead incident response efforts to mitigate production issues quickly.
Evaluate and integrate new technologies to solve complex engineering problems and improve system reliability.
What we're looking for
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 6+ years of engineering experience with C, C++, C#, Python, or Java (or equivalent).
Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 8+ years of engineering experience with C, C++, C#, Python, or Java (or equivalent).
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 12+ years of engineering experience with C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python (or equivalent).
Deep knowledge of containers, GPU computing, and distributed training infrastructure.
Demonstrated ability to modify, optimize, or improve models and training/inference systems rather than just using the technologies.
Experience with inference technologies such as vLLM, SGLang, and disaggregated inference.
Experience with training and orchestration technologies such as VERL, Slime, and Ray.
Prior experience in reinforcement learning, post-training, container workloads, or cloud software development (preferred).
Azure
Python
C++
C#
Java
JavaScript
C
Distributed Systems
Cloud Infrastructure
Machine Learning
DevOps
Software Architecture
Telemetry
High Availability
Generative AI
Machine Learning
Python
JavaScript
C#
.NET
C
C++
Java
React
SDKs
Software Engineering
Scalable Systems
Product Development
Incident Response
Live Site Health