Principal Software Engineer

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Are you interested in working for the team that powers one of the most fundamental pieces of the Azure cloud? The Azure Domain Name System (DNS) team is responsible for building and operating systems at massive scale with extremely high availability requirements 100% Service Level Agreement (SLA). Here, you’ll help shape the future of global DNS and traffic management and reliability, collaborating with passionate engineers to deliver mission-critical services.

As a Principal Software Engineer in Azure DNS, you’ll lead the design and architecture of cloud-scale systems that power DNS services with high availability and performance. Your work will span scalable RESTful Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), geo-replicated data stores, data plane services, and health monitoring systems that enable self-healing capabilities. You’ll own key projects and drive them end-to-end, ensuring technical excellence and operational reliability. This opportunity will allow you to innovate and solve complex scale and availability challenges, provide technical leadership across the team, and collaborate with passionate engineers to deliver mission-critical services. You’ll actively engage in code reviews, mentor peers, and foster a culture of engineering excellence and teamwork.

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.

Required 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.
• 3+ years of experience in large-scale cloud services.

Other Qualifications:

• 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.

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.
• Experience in designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems capable of sustaining rapid growth.

• 1+ years experience in any of the following areas is a plus: Data path technologies like XDP/eBPF/DPDK, DNS protocol, large scale web applications, SQL/No-SQL databases and asynchronous programming models.

• 1+ years experience in building Machine Learning systems for security and predictive analytics is a plus.

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 October 14, 2025.

#azurecorejobs

• Design, architect, and implement software features for cloud-scale networking systems, ensuring reliability, performance, security, and maintainability.
• Lead and mentor engineers, fostering a collaborative and passionate team culture.
• Drive projects end-to-end, collaborating with stakeholders from initial scoping to timely delivery.
• Act as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI), monitoring system uptime, responding to alerts, and developing automated self-healing solutions.
• Conduct thorough code reviews, sharing knowledge and practices to improve engineering excellence.
• Innovate and improve operational efficiency, enabling growth at scale.
• Provide technical leadership, adapting to new trends and advancements in DNS, networking and cloud infrastructure.
• Proactively seek new knowledge and share insights to improve reliability, efficiency, and observability across the team.
• Other:
  • Embody our Culture and Values