Principal Software Engineer, CoreAI

Microsoft

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
Redmond, WA
Salary
$142,800–$274,800 / yr
Posted
4 days ago
Closes
Dec 8, 2026

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $190k
This role $209k
$127k most similar roles pay here $291k

This role pays more than 66% of similar roles. Most pay $165,000–$216,000 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $209k versus about $190k 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 1580 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $119,800–$234,700 across 1408 roles with salary data.

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View all roles at Microsoft

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer, CoreAI

As a Senior Platform Engineer on the AI Infrastructure team, you will lead the architecture and implementation of large-scale platform services that support complex engineering and AI workflows in distributed cloud environments. Your daily responsibilities include building internal tooling and automation to enhance productivity for engineers and researchers, designing capabilities for secure data discovery and access, and driving operational excellence through improvements in reliability, observability, and incident readiness. You will partner with cross-functional teams to resolve technical challenges and mentor engineers while contributing to technical reviews to elevate engineering standards across the organization. The role requires extensive experience in distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, platform engineering, and data governance, along with a proven track record of building internal platforms and developer tooling for AI and ML workloads.

What you'll do

  • Lead architecture for large-scale platform services in distributed cloud environments.
  • Build internal tooling to enhance productivity for engineers and researchers.
  • Design secure, governed data platforms for easy access and use.
  • Drive operational excellence by improving reliability and deployment safety.
  • Mentor engineers and contribute to technical reviews across the organization.

What we're looking for

  • 6+ years designing, building, and operating large-scale software systems.
  • Expertise in distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, platform engineering, and data infrastructure.
  • Proven technical leadership in ambiguous problem spaces and cross-team alignment.
  • Experience enhancing production reliability, security, and operational efficiency.
  • Track record of building internal platforms, developer tooling, and workflow automation.
  • Knowledge of governed data platforms, access control, observability, and compliance-aware design.
  • Strong mentoring skills with a history of raising engineering quality across teams.

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