Principal Software Engineer, Performance

Microsoft

Confirmed live 2 days ago High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: —
Salary: $165,600–$296,400 / yr
Posted: 11 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live 2 days ago
Closes: Feb 27, 2027

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $200k

This role $231k

$124k most similar roles pay here $315k

This role pays more than 82% of similar roles. Most pay $174,600–$225,712 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $231k versus about $200k 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 598 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $119,800–$234,700 across 586 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at Microsoft

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer, Performance

Role Posting Log in to save

As a Principal Software Engineer - Performance, you will join the Artificial Intelligence Performance team to develop software that enables efficient execution of AI models. You will serve as a technical lead for high-impact initiatives involving AI frameworks, performance engineering, benchmarking, and developer productivity tools. Your daily responsibilities include establishing technical direction, driving architectural decisions, mentoring engineers, and leading cross-stack investigations across models, compilers, runtimes, systems, and silicon. You will build scalable platform capabilities through measurement, automation, and observability to improve model onboarding velocity and hardware utilization. The role requires expertise in C++ or Python, with a focus on high-performance distributed software systems and accelerator-aware optimization. This position addresses the technical challenge of optimizing inference performance for large language models hosted on cloud services to ensure production reliability and platform efficiency.

What does a Software Engineer earn?

Median $197500 from 2196 postings across 133 companies.

See salary data

Skills

C++ Python AI Frameworks Performance Engineering Benchmarking Azure Compiler Computer Architecture Observability Software Architecture

What you'll do

Own the technical vision, architecture, roadmap, and execution strategy for AI framework and performance capabilities.
Lead cross-team alignment by resolving competing requirements and holding partners accountable to clear decisions.
Steer complex investigations across models, compilers, runtimes, systems, and silicon to resolve trade-offs.
Provide hands-on leadership through prototyping, critical-path implementation, code reviews, and complex debugging.
Develop scalable platform capabilities through common measurement, automation, and observability mechanisms.
Improve model onboarding velocity, runtime performance, hardware utilization, and Azure capacity efficiency.
Mentor engineers and build technical leadership capacity across the organization to ensure high quality standards.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field.
8+ years of technical engineering experience coding in languages such as C++ or Python.
Ability to pass Microsoft Cloud background checks and other required security screenings.
Experience serving as a technical lead for complex cross-team initiatives including strategy, architecture, and stakeholder alignment.
Extensive experience designing and shipping complex, high-performance, or distributed software systems.
Deep foundation in software architecture, computer architecture, and accelerator-aware optimization.
Advanced experience with AI/ML workloads and frameworks.
Proven track record of creating reusable platforms and developing other technical leaders.

Save