below marketmost similar roles pay hereabove market
This role pays more than
71%
of similar roles. Most pay
$169,550–$214,500
— the blue band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$209k
versus about
$192k
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
692 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 649 roles with salary data.
JOB TITLE: Principal Software Engineer
The Principal Software Engineer joins the Agent platform team to design, develop, and harden core platform capabilities for Microsoft 365 Copilot. This role focuses on building a modular, event-driven platform that provides real-time multimodal orchestration, long-running task durability, and self-serve partner tooling. You will code, debug, and troubleshoot production systems, contribute to safe deployment practices, and build robust telemetry and evals. The position requires deep expertise in distributed systems and software engineering principles to create observable, reliable services. Candidates must possess proficiency in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python. You will solve complex technical problems regarding runtime orchestration and API protocol design to ensure consistent feature flow across applications like Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
What does a Software Engineer earn?
Median $196000 from 2584 postings across 147 companies.
Design, develop, and harden core platform capabilities for real-time multimodal orchestration and long-running task durability.
Code, debug, test, and troubleshoot production systems that other agents depend on.
Build robust telemetry and evaluations to ensure system observability and reliability.
Create design documents for products, applications, and services while identifying technical dependencies.
Lead on-call rotations as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) to monitor system health and downtime.
Develop extensible, maintainable, and secure code that adheres to strict design specifications.
Partner with stakeholders to determine user requirements for complex scenarios and ship features across the ecosystem.
What we're looking for
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 6+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python (or equivalent experience).
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including a Microsoft Cloud background check every two years.
Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 8+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python (preferred).
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field and 12+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python (preferred).
2+ years of experience building and designing complex web apps (preferred).
2+ years of experience working on web performance, including web profiling tools and industry best practices (preferred).
2+ years of experience defining engineering culture for a broader organization, including best practices on automation, performance, and reliability (preferred).
2+ years of experience leading crews of 5+ engineers on complex engineering projects in the web development space (preferred).
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