This role pays more than
85%
of similar roles. Most pay
$174,600–$225,000
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$231k
versus about
$200k
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 within the Commercial Engineering & AI team, you will define and drive the long-term architectural strategy for Partner Center and the broader partner ecosystem. You will lead technical vision for platform modernization, Cloud Subscription migration, and AI-native engineering while ensuring interoperability across commerce platforms. Your daily work involves leading architecture reviews, establishing standards for scalability and security, and driving data integration strategies across various partner intelligence solutions. You will mentor engineers and influence roadmaps to reduce system duplication and consolidate capabilities through shared services. The role requires expertise in large-scale distributed systems and experience with programming languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python. This position addresses the complex challenge of building a cohesive, scalable platform for global partner engagement, enrollment, incentives, and AI-powered commerce experiences.
What does a Software Engineer earn in Washington?
Median $202800 from 326 postings across 28 companies.
Define and drive long-term architectural strategies for Partner Center and the broader partner ecosystem.
Lead technical decisions for Cloud Subscription migration, platform modernization, and large-scale engineering investments.
Act as the primary architectural liaison with Commerce Core to influence platform roadmaps and requirements.
Champion AI-native engineering practices and responsible AI patterns across the software development lifecycle.
Develop a holistic architecture for partner systems to ensure consistency, interoperability, and platform reuse.
Drive ecosystem-wide data architecture and integration strategies across multiple internal platforms.
Lead technical design reviews focusing on scalability, performance, resiliency, security, and compliance.
Identify opportunities to reduce platform duplication and consolidate capabilities through shared services and common data models.
What we're looking for
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field.
8+ years of technical engineering experience coding in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python (or equivalent experience).
Experience leading architecture strategy and platform modernization across multiple engineering organizations and large-scale distributed systems (preferred).
Experience in Native AI Engineering (preferred).
Experience delivering large scale online services (preferred).
Technical background and hands-on experience (preferred).
Experience mentoring other Software Engineers (preferred).
LLM
Python
C++
C#
Java
JavaScript
Distributed Systems
Cloud-Native Architecture
Microservices
Retrieval
Prompt Orchestration
Data Modeling
System Design
Observability
Responsible AI