Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: US
Salary: $142,800–$274,800 / yr
Posted: 1 day ago
Closes: Dec 23, 2026
Nearby: 93 roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $177k

This role $209k

$124k most similar roles pay here $291k

This role pays more than 79% of similar roles. Most pay $145,343–$208,800 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $209k versus about $177k for comparable roles.

Based on 239 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 622 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $119,800–$234,700 across 559 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer

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As a Principal Software Engineer on the Substrate Deployment Team, you will lead a team tasked with building a world-class deployment system for managing hyperscale environments. Your day-to-day responsibilities include collaborating with engineers and product managers to design and implement AI-driven solutions that enhance deployment efficiency and reliability across millions of servers in datacenters worldwide. You will mentor team members on adopting modern AI-powered development practices, own the delivery of complete features throughout the development lifecycle, and drive innovation through automation and AI-assisted engineering. The role requires proficiency in AI-native development, cloud platforms, distributed architectures, and experience with large language models to optimize service performance and operational excellence at scale.

Skills

AI-native development GitHub Copilot CLI Markdown specs YAML configs Cloud platforms Distributed systems Service-oriented architecture Reliability practices Monitoring tools Performance optimization Large language models LLMs MLOps

What you'll do

Lead feature delivery across the development lifecycle, ensuring quality and efficiency.
Mentor engineers on adopting modern AI-powered development practices and tools.
Drive innovation through automation and AI solutions to enhance deployment reliability.
Collaborate with teams to design scalable and efficient deployment systems using AI.
Ensure high-quality code with a focus on performance, scalability, and maintainability.

What we're looking for

Extensive experience in designing and implementing scalable systems and software.
Proficiency in leveraging AI and large language models for development and deployment.
Strong background in cloud platforms and distributed/service-oriented architecture.
Expertise in building, testing, debugging, and maintaining production-quality software.
Experience with reliability, monitoring, and performance optimization practices.
Ability to mentor engineers and drive innovation through automation and AI solutions.