hero

Queering the tech ecosystem!

Connecting our community to great opportunities

Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft

Microsoft

Software Engineering
USD 139,900-274,800 / year
Posted on Aug 22, 2025

Principal Software Engineer

Multiple Locations, United States

Save

Share job

Date posted
Aug 20, 2025
Job number
1860474
Work site
Up to 100% work from home
Travel
0-25 %
Role type
Individual Contributor
Profession
Software Engineering
Discipline
Software Engineering
Employment type
Full-Time

Overview

Join the Azure Compute Foundation team, a vibrant group at the heart of Azure Compute. We shape and manage the lifecycles of millions of machines and containers, combining scale with complexity handling. Here, we foster a growth mindset, cultivating an environment where collaboration sparks innovation and drives success.

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our team that provides foundational services for Microsoft Azure. If you are interested in cloud computing, want to work on a team whose services are foundational for all the Azure customers worldwide, and want to play a vital role in the design of mission-critical features of Azure, then we have an excellent opportunity for you.


Your role will gain you valuable experience in cloud services, data center networking, monitoring, and security, as well as working with partner teams. We need talented individuals like you to work on control plane services, tooling, and automation. This role also offers great opportunities to work with many partner teams and gain broad exposure to control plane and data plane technologies end-to-end.


Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees, we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
    • OR equivalent experience.
  • 2+ years of experience with distributed systems, backend development.
  • 2+ years of experience with cloud services, preferably Azure services.

Other Requirements:

  • Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:
    • Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
    • OR related technical field AND 10+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, OR Python
    • OR Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
    • OR equivalent experience.
  • Extensive experience with designing, developing, and operating backed services.
  • Excellent analytical skills with a systematic and structured approach to software design.
  • Ability to communicate technical details clearly across organizational boundaries.
  • Experience with building highly scalable, reliable services.

Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay.

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until August 27, 2025.

#azurecorejobs

Responsibilities

  • Design, develop, and deliver services, tooling, automation, tests and monitoring for Azure Compute foundational services.
  • Create, implement, optimize, debug, refactor, and reuse code to establish and improve performance and maintainability, effectiveness, and return on investment (ROI).
  • Leverage subject-matter expertise of product features and partners with appropriate stakeholders (e.g., project managers) to drive a workgroup's project plans, release plans, and work items.
  • Leads by example and mentors others to produce extensible and maintainable code used across products.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.
Industry leading healthcare
Educational resources
Discounts on products and services
Savings and investments
Maternity and paternity leave
Generous time away
Giving programs
Opportunities to network and connect

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.