Principal Software Engineer

Overview

Microsoft is leading the AI transformation. Organizations can leverage digital intelligence on demand to improve business outcomes and empower employees. Agents are at the center of this transformation—operating autonomously, collaborating with humans and other agents, supporting decisions, and spanning every business process.

The Copilot, Agents, and Platform (CAP) organization powers mission-critical Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 services, including BizChat, Work IQ, Agent 365, and the agent runtime for the next era of work.

The Team

The M365 Core AI Inferencing Engineering team within CAP builds and operates mission-critical, hyperscale, high-performance, cost-efficient, and compliant AI infrastructure that powers Microsoft's Large Language Model (LLM) services across Microsoft 365, Business & Industry Copilot, and other AI-powered products.

The team comprises software engineers, architects, applied scientists, and product managers from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Team members collaborate across Microsoft to solve challenging problems at scale and help teams deliver innovative AI experiences. Core values include customer focus, technical excellence, creativity, teamwork, accountability, agility, and continuous learning.

The Role

This Principal Software Engineer position offers an opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI technologies at a scale and impact difficult to find elsewhere. You will partner with teams across CAP and Microsoft to build the AI inferencing platform that enables engineers and applied scientists to rapidly develop AI-powered innovations using the latest models and technologies in a compliant, reliable, and cost-efficient manner.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of engineers, fostering excellence, engagement, and continuous learning.
• Drive the design, development, and delivery of the AI Inferencing platform that powers AI experiences for millions of customers.
• Own platform cost efficiency, availability, and operational excellence, setting an industry-leading standard for reliability and performance.
• Coach engineers in building and operating large-scale distributed systems that serve hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
• Collaborate across product and engineering teams throughout Copilot, Power Platform, Business Applications, and Microsoft to deliver innovative AI solutions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor'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.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements, including Microsoft Cloud Background Check. This position requires passing the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 12+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python; OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 15+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python; OR equivalent experience.
• Strong software engineering skills with proficiency in Python and/or C#/.NET.
• Experience leading technical projects and driving execution across complex engineering environments.
• Solid technical expertise demonstrated through experience in two or more of the following areas:
• Building and operating hyperscale cloud services (4+ years).
• Large Language Models (LLMs), AI orchestration frameworks, embedding models, and vector databases.
• Distributed systems design and implementation.
• Event-driven and message-based architectures.
• High-scale OLTP or OLAP storage systems.
• Experience leading complex initiatives that span multiple engineering teams or organizations.
• Solid written, verbal, and executive communication skills.
• Passion for AI technologies and delivering reliable, scalable, and cost-efficient customer experiences.

Additional Information

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, contact Microsoft for more information.