Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Hybrid

Quick summary

Work type: Hybrid
Location: —
Salary: $165,600–$296,400 / yr
Posted: 5 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Closes: Apr 19, 2027

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $196k

This role $231k

$124k $315k

below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays more than 82% of similar roles. Most pay $170,250–$220,800 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $231k versus about $196k 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 711 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $119,800–$234,700 across 668 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer

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The Principal Software Engineer joins the Windows Engineering Systems Build team to provide technical leadership for foundational build tools, services, and engineering workflows. This role involves defining architectural direction, leading multi-quarter initiatives, and solving ambiguous problems across organizational boundaries. You will build and modernize systems for build orchestration, distributed execution, caching, compilers, toolchains, and dependency management. Key responsibilities include diagnosing high-impact failures, establishing engineering standards, and advancing secure software-supply-chain practices. The role requires proficiency in C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python, along with experience in MSBuild, BuildXL, Bazel, and Azure DevOps pipelines. You will solve the technical challenge of making builds faster, more reliable, and secure for thousands of developers while maintaining compatibility and operational continuity for mission-critical native tools and long-lived codebases.

What does a Software Engineer earn?

Median $196900 from 2634 postings across 153 companies.

See salary data

Skills

C++ C# Python Java TypeScript JavaScript C PowerShell MSBuild BuildXL Bazel CI/CD Azure DevOps GitHub Actions KQL Azure Data Explorer Application Insights Build Orchestration

What you'll do

Define and drive the technical strategy and architecture for foundational build tools and engineering workflows.
Lead multi-quarter initiatives to modernize critical engineering systems for better reliability, performance, and security.
Design and deliver solutions for build orchestration, distributed execution, caching, compilers, and dependency management.
Diagnose complex failures across organizational boundaries and drive root cause investigations and remediation.
Establish architectural principles and engineering standards to enable teams to evolve systems safely.
Advance secure software-supply-chain practices including dependency governance, provenance, and compliance automation.
Mentor engineers and technical leaders through architecture reviews, debugging, and project leadership.
Create reusable designs, tools, and diagnostics to multiply the effectiveness of the broader engineering organization.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 8+ years of technical engineering experience in languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python.
Equivalent experience to the degree and years of experience requirement.
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including a Microsoft Cloud Background Check.
Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 10+ years of technical engineering experience in C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, or TypeScript (preferred).
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 12+ years of technical engineering experience in C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, or TypeScript (preferred).
Experience defining architecture and technical strategy for complex systems used by multiple teams or organizations (preferred).
Experience with Windows internals, native software development, and build technologies such as C++, C#, PowerShell, MSBuild, BuildXL, Bazel, or distributed build execution (preferred).
Experience with developer infrastructure, CI/CD platforms, dependency management, or large-scale distributed services (preferred).

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