Principal Software Engineer
Microsoft
Microsoft is leading the AI transformation, and agents are at the center of this shift. As organizations build thousands of agentic solutions that act autonomously, coordinate with humans, and power every business process, Microsoft Copilot Studio is becoming the platform to create and manage trusted, reliable, and enterprise‑ready agents.
The Copilot Studio AI Foundations team is at the forefront of AI Agility and builds the platforms and services enabling teams across Microsoft to ship AI with speed and confidence. We design and operate the systems that underpin evaluations at scale, define the AI development process, and provide the metrics and gates that ensure every change is validated with high quality insights. Our work enables rapid experimentation, fast deployment of model updates, and ultimately higher AI quality and stronger customer usage across Microsoft.
We are hiring a Principal Software Engineer to lead architecture and hands on development of the platforms that make this possible. You will collaborate with applied science and product partners to build reliable, high performance systems that power experimentation, evaluation, and AI readiness at scale. Your work will help teams ship AI features faster, safer, and more frequently while driving measurable improvements in quality and customer satisfaction.
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
- Set technical strategy for large scale, AI first services aligned to customer outcomes and adoption.
- Lead architecture and design for complex systems; validate options with specs, prototypes, and data.
- Write secure, performant, well tested code and raise standards through thoughtful reviews.
- Collaborate with Applied Science and AI experts to design, build, and ship cutting edge generative AI features that redefine AI first SaaS.
- Improve resiliency, security, reliability, latency, and cost using strong observability and operational practices; act as DRI for key services and drive durable fixes.
- Unblock cross team dependencies, manage risks, and land integrated, production ready solutions at scale while mentoring engineers and sharing best practices.
Qualifications
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.
- 6+ years of software development experience in application or services development on cloud-based platforms or AI-driven systems.
- 1+ years of experience working with Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI.
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.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 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 Bachelor'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 equivalent experience.
- Ability to lead technical strategy across ambiguous AI problem spaces and influence multi team engineering decisions.
- Expertise building or operating large scale platforms and systems that support AI quality, safety, reliability, or experimentation with strong observability, diagnosability, and operational excellence for AI driven workloads.
- Experience with distributed systems architecture, multi tenant cloud services, and high availability backend engineering.
- Proven track record mentoring senior engineers and raising the technical bar through design leadership, reviews, and hands on guidance.
- Ability to navigate ambiguity, deliver in an agile environment, adopt new technologies, and collaborate effectively across teams.
#BICJobs
#MCSJobs
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
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.