Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
Redmond, WA
Salary
$165,600–$296,400 / yr
Posted
2 days ago
Closes
Dec 27, 2026
Nearby
99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $176k
This role $231k
$120k most similar roles pay here $315k

This role pays more than 92% of similar roles. Most pay $142,450–$209,650 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $231k versus about $176k 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 368 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $119,800–$234,700 across 347 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at Microsoft

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer

Role Posting Log in to save

As a Principal Software Engineer on the Microsoft Content team, you will lead the technical direction for large-scale content platforms used by over 1 billion users across various products. Your responsibilities include shaping multi-year technical strategies, driving architectural coherence, and building systems that serve as foundational platforms with strict requirements for availability, latency, security, and cost efficiency. You will also guide the integration of LLM-powered capabilities into production systems, ensuring they are reliable and scalable components of the platform. The role requires expertise in backend systems, cloud-native architecture, distributed systems, and service-oriented design, along with a track record of delivering large-scale distributed systems used by millions of users. This position involves working closely with engineering leaders, product teams, and applied scientists to align technical investments with long-term business outcomes.

Skills

Azure Kubernetes Docker Python Go Java SQL NoSQL CI/CD Terraform Prometheus Grafana LLMs Microservices Service-Oriented Architecture Observability Responsible AI Security Scalability Cloud-Native

What you'll do

  • Define and drive long-term technical strategy for large-scale distributed systems.
  • Lead the design of cohesive platforms integrating services, data, and AI capabilities.
  • Ensure backend systems meet strict requirements for availability and cost efficiency.
  • Guide integration of LLM-powered capabilities into production systems reliably.
  • Influence technical direction across teams without direct authority.
  • Drive alignment between engineering, product, and applied science on platform strategy.
  • Mentor senior engineers and emerging leaders to grow technical talent.

What we're looking for

  • Extensive experience architecting and delivering large-scale distributed systems used by millions of users.
  • Deep expertise in backend systems, cloud-native architecture, and microservices-based design.
  • Proven ability to own and evolve production systems with high availability, low latency, and strong operational rigor.
  • Demonstrated skill in driving technical strategy and influencing across multiple teams or organizations.
  • Experience leading complex, ambiguous, and high-impact technical initiatives from concept through delivery.
  • Expertise in designing and scaling LLM-powered applications and intelligent platforms in production environments.

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