This role pays more than
57%
of similar roles. Most pay
$184,932–$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
668 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 647 roles with salary data.
As a Principal Software Engineer on the Turing team, you will help shape the future of enterprise productivity by building the core systems that power Microsoft 365 Chat Copilot. You will work alongside scientists and engineers to develop infrastructure, platforms, and features for large language models at scale. Your daily responsibilities include leading design discussions, defining system architecture for security and scalability, mentoring team members through code reviews, and translating project visions into actionable milestones. You will also manage reliability as a designated responsible individual to resolve incidents and improve system performance. The role requires expertise in distributed systems, intelligent orchestration, and reasoning systems. Candidates should be proficient in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python, with experience in agentic systems, retrieval, and large-scale cloud infrastructure.
What does a Software Engineer earn?
Median $196750 from 2004 postings across 147 companies.
Design system architectures that meet security, compliance, and scalability requirements for enterprise AI features.
Lead design discussions by creating documentation and ensuring alignment with project goals.
Develop and maintain developer tools to support code creation, testing, and deployment.
Translate high-level project visions into actionable milestones and technical implementation plans.
Mentor team members through code reviews and pair programming to ensure maintainable code.
Act as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) to monitor systems and resolve production incidents.
Analyze incident patterns to implement broad resolutions that reduce future system downtime.
Partner with stakeholders to gather user requirements and incorporate feedback into iterative designs.
What we're looking for
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field and 6+ years of technical engineering experience in languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python.
Ability to pass Microsoft Cloud background checks every two years.
Master’s degree in a relevant field with 8+ years of experience, or a bachelor’s degree with 10+ years of experience (preferred).
Experience designing and shipping AI-powered products, including large language models, agentic systems, or retrieval technologies (preferred).
Proven software engineering judgment to translate emerging AI capabilities into reliable, maintainable, and scalable product experiences (preferred).
Experience architecting and operating large-scale cloud or distributed systems with a focus on reliability and performance (preferred).
Ability to shape technical strategy, influence architectural decisions, and mentor engineers in fast-moving environments (preferred).
Python
Large Language Models
Prompt Engineering
LangChain
SageMaker
Vert.x
DialogFlow
AWS
GCP
React
Angular
SwiftUI
Kotlin
Java
TypeScript
Spring
Express
NodeJS
Distributed Systems
Full-stack Development