Principal Software Engineer
 Microsoft | |
$139,900.00 - $274,800.00 / yr
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 United States, Washington, Redmond | |
 Jan 22, 2026 | |
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Overview
We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our Microsoft AI - Copilot Discover - Knowledge Agent backend platform team, contributing to projects related to agentic vertical content generation pipelines, AI model serving pipeline, data ingestion, caching, and serving. This platform powers backend support for verticals such as weather, finance, sports, and potentially others, delivering content across Microsoft canvases including Copilot, Edge, MSN, and Windows, reaching over 1B+ customers globally. The ideal candidate is passionate about backend engineering and skilled at building highly distributed, high-volume, and reliable service platforms in the cloud. Experience with cloud storage, distributed task orchestration, and large-scale data processing is required, with proficiency on Azure or equivalent technologies on AWS and GCP (e.g., S3, Cloud Storage, Kafka, Kubernetes). You will provide technical leadership, drive engineering excellence, and deliver robust and scalable solutions that directly impact global users, while continually improving platform KPIs. 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. Responsibilities - Design, develop, test, and deploy data ingestion, pre/post processing, caching, and serving pipelines. - Architect and implement scalable backend services with solid reliability and performance guarantees. - Deploy algorithms and ML/DL models using containers and schedulers. - Collaborate with scientists, engineers, and product managers to translate business requirements into technical solutions. - Provide technical leadership and mentorship to peers. - Ensure code quality, performance, reliability, and scalability of platform components. - Troubleshoot and resolve issues in production and development environments. - Participate in DRI on-call duties. Qualifications Required Qualifications:
Preferred Qualifications:
#MicrosoftAI #TechLeadership #CloudComputing #DistributedSystems #CloudInfrastructure 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: This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. 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 with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations. | |