This role pays more than
57%
of similar roles. Most pay
$185,187–$231,000
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$209k
versus about
$208k
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
686 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 666 roles with salary data.
As a Principal Software Engineer on the Virtualization Core Platform team, you will shape foundational technology for high-performance, security-critical systems. You will focus on the hypervisor and Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) to power virtual machines, containers, and servers across Windows, Linux, and macOS environments. Your daily responsibilities include designing architecture, implementing innovative features, mentoring engineers through code reviews, and resolving complex low-level hardware and software interactions. You will also manage silicon bring-up activities in collaboration with hardware partners. The role requires expertise in systems programming using C, C++, or Rust, along with a deep understanding of kernel-mode programming, security, and modern computer architectures for desktops and servers. You will drive technical leadership to improve platform performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency while ensuring high engineering quality across multiple product release cycles.
What does a Software Engineer earn in Remote?
Median $205300 from 346 postings across 55 companies.
Design and implement innovative features for the hypervisor and Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM).
Develop and evolve OpenVMM capabilities across Linux, Windows, and macOS environments.
Improve platform performance, security, reliability, and cost-efficiency.
Diagnose and resolve complex low-level hardware and software interactions at the core of the virtualization platform.
Enable hypervisor and VMM components on new silicon in collaboration with hardware partners.
Provide architectural leadership and technical guidance to mentor engineers through code reviews and problem-solving.
Influence cross-organizational architecture, design decisions, and long-term platform strategy for Windows Core and Azure.
What we're looking for
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 6+ years of experience coding in C, C++, or Rust for systems or platform software.
Ability to pass Microsoft Cloud Background Check and other required security screenings.
Master's Degree in Computer Science and 8+ years of engineering experience (preferred).
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and 12+ years of engineering experience (preferred).
7+ years of experience in hypervisor, VMM, kernel, or virtualization-stack programming, kernel-mode programming, and security (preferred).
Architectural skills demonstrated through the design and implementation of complex systems software (preferred).
Experience with silicon bring-up activities (preferred).
Thorough understanding of modern computer architectures found in desktop PCs and servers (preferred).
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