below marketmost similar roles pay hereabove market
This role pays more than
83%
of similar roles. Most pay
$169,550–$220,800
— the blue band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$231k
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
694 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 651 roles with salary data.
The Principal Software Engineer will join the Search platform team to define and drive the architecture strategy for compliant computation and storage. This role involves shaping the long-term technical vision for how the platform processes, stores, governs, and protects data while supporting AI-powered experiences. Key responsibilities include establishing platform-wide design principles for privacy, security, data residency, and regulatory compliance, as well as leading cross-organizational initiatives to modernize data access, lineage, and auditing frameworks. The candidate will work with large-scale distributed systems, data platforms, and cloud services to handle petabyte-scale workloads. Required technical skills include proficiency in coding languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python. The role solves the complex problem of embedding compliance requirements into high-scale search infrastructure by design.
What does a Software Engineer earn?
Median $197400 from 2576 postings across 150 companies.
Define the end-to-end architecture vision for compliant computation and storage services across the Bing Search ecosystem.
Establish platform-wide design principles for privacy, security, data residency, retention, and regulatory compliance.
Drive the architectural strategy for large-scale distributed storage and data processing systems handling petabyte-scale workloads.
Translate regulatory requirements into scalable technical capabilities by partnering with Privacy, Security, Legal, and Compliance teams.
Lead initiatives to modernize data access, governance, lineage, auditing, retention, and deletion frameworks.
Influence architectural decisions across multiple engineering teams through technical leadership and executive communication.
Evaluate emerging technologies to enhance compliance posture while improving developer productivity and platform efficiency.
Develop multi-year roadmaps that align business objectives with compliance requirements and platform evolution.
What we're looking for
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 8+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python.
Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 12+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python (preferred).
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 15+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python (preferred).
Proven experience architecting hyperscale distributed systems, data platforms, or cloud services (preferred).
Deep expertise in storage systems, large-scale computation frameworks, and data lifecycle management (preferred).
Solid understanding of privacy, security, compliance, and governance requirements in global cloud and data environments (preferred).
Demonstrated ability to drive architectural alignment across large, complex organizations (preferred).
Exceptional communication and executive influence skills with a track record of driving strategic technical decisions (preferred).
Distributed Systems
Vector Index
C++
Python
Java
C#
JavaScript
Search Engine
Approximate-nearest-neighbor search
LLM
Big Data
System Architecture
Performance Optimization
Data Access Patterns
Software Development Lifecycle
Distributed Systems
C
C++
C#
Java
JavaScript
Python
Microsoft Azure
AWS
Cloud Computing
Service-Oriented Architecture
AI
Observability
Reliability Engineering
Data Structures
Algorithms
Distributed Systems
Machine Learning
C++
C#
Python
Java
JavaScript
C
Azure
Multi-threading
System Design
High-Performance Programming
Data Mining
Statistical Modeling
Linear Algebra
Information Retrieval