Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft

Confirmed live today High trust
Hybrid

Quick summary

Work type
Hybrid
Location
—
Salary
$142,800–$274,800 / yr
Posted
3 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live today
Closes
Apr 21, 2027

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $195k
This role $209k
$127k $291k
below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays more than 68% of similar roles. Most pay $169,550–$220,800 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $209k 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.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at Microsoft

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer

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The Principal Software Engineer joins the platform team to shape the next generation of internal infrastructure, making software operation simpler and more reliable. This hands-on technical leader will define the platform roadmap, write production code, and lead cross-team initiatives to turn complex infrastructure into intuitive capabilities. Key responsibilities include developing AI-assisted and agent-based workflows for troubleshooting and migrations, building automated validation and observability mechanisms, and designing self-service tools for engineering teams. The role requires deep expertise in distributed systems, API design, concurrency, and data management. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python. The work focuses on solving scalability and performance bottlenecks while integrating large language models into engineering workflows to improve developer experience and operational efficiency.

What does a Software Engineer earn?

Median $197400 from 2576 postings across 150 companies.

See salary data

Skills

Distributed Systems Large Language Models Python Java C# C++ JavaScript C CI/CD Cloud Infrastructure Observability API Design Concurrency Data Management Telemetry Profiling Platform Engineering Configuration Management Service Frameworks

What you'll do

  • Define and drive a platform roadmap that connects long-term architectural investments with business needs.
  • Develop AI-assisted and agent-based capabilities for troubleshooting, testing, migrations, and operational analysis.
  • Build automated validation, progressive rollout, observability, and recovery mechanisms to ensure safe production delivery.
  • Lead initiatives from problem definition and architecture through implementation, adoption, and ongoing operation.
  • Translate developer needs into self-service capabilities and maintainable technical solutions.
  • Align stakeholders on technical tradeoffs and build shared approaches across organizational boundaries.
  • Write production code, mentor engineers, and guide design reviews to raise the engineering bar.

What we're looking for

  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and 6+ years of experience in C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python, or equivalent experience.
  • Master's Degree in Computer Science and 8+ years of experience in C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python, or equivalent experience.
  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and 12+ years of experience in C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python, or equivalent experience.
  • Experience designing, building, and operating distributed systems or shared platform services in production.
  • Experience building platforms or developer tools adopted across multiple teams to improve productivity, reliability, or efficiency.
  • Hands-on experience integrating large language models or agents into engineering workflows, including tool integration and evaluation.
  • Experience designing interfaces and workflows that support both human developers and AI agents.
  • Ability to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire and every two years thereafter.

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