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Job Details
Posted date: Jan 30, 2026
There have been 20 jobs posted with the title of Principal AI Engineer all time at Microsoft.There have been 20 Principal AI Engineer jobs posted in the last month.
Category: Software Engineering
Location: Multiple Locations, Multiple Locations
Estimated salary: $222,050
Range: $139,900 - $304,200
Employment type: Full-Time
Work location type: 0 days / week in-office – remote
Role: Individual Contributor
Description
OverviewSecurity represents the most critical priorities for our customers in a world awash in digital threats, regulatory scrutiny, and estate complexity. Microsoft Security aspires to make the world a safer place for all. We want to reshape security and empower every user, customer, and developer with a security cloud that protects them with end to end, simplified solutions. The Microsoft Security organization accelerates Microsoft’s mission and bold ambitions to ensure that our company and industry is securing digital technology platforms, devices, and clouds in our customers’ heterogeneous environments, as well as ensuring the security of our own internal estate.
The Security AI Platform team builds and operates production infrastructure that powers AI-native security capabilities at Microsoft scale. We are organized into two focused groups: Platform + Apps develops the core product, microservices, and architecture; AI Operations ensures reliability, deployments, and operational excellence. Together, we deliver mission-critical services that process millions of requests daily.
We are seeking a Principal AI Engineer - Platform to help define the technical direction for the Platform + Apps group. In this role, you will design and architect solutions for large, ambiguous problems, drive the development of microservices, ML inference pipelines, and user experiences. You will provide hands-on technical leadership, guide associate and mid-level engineers, and personally contribute to critical architectural decisions and prototypes.
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.
In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.
Responsibilities
Define the technical vision, architecture, and roadmap for the platform; align stakeholders across Security AI, partner product teams, and Azure AI to deliver cohesive customer valueDrive technical direction for engineers building microservices, ML inference pipelines, APIs, and user interfacesArchitect multi-tier ML inference systems: high-performance rule engines, LLM serving, transformer models, and intelligent caching strategiesProvide hands-on technical leadership: prototype critical components, review designs and PRs, define API contracts, establish coding standards, and build evaluation frameworksDrive microservices architecture decisions: service decomposition, API design (REST/gRPC), data models, state management, and inter-service communication patternsOwn the end-to-end product development lifecycle: requirements analysis, technical design, implementation, testing, and deployment coordination with AI OperationsCollaborate with AI Operations team on deployment strategies, infrastructure requirements, and operational readiness for new featuresEnsure Responsible AI, privacy, and security guardrails are designed in from day one; coordinate safety reviews and compliance requirementsMentor senior and mid-level engineers; cultivate a builder culture of velocity, quality, and continuous improvementEngage with enterprise customers and partner teams to co-design solutions; communicate technical roadmaps and demonstrate capabilities to executivesEmbody our culture and values
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 technical engineering experience building production software systems6+ years driving complex, cross-functional initiatives; demonstrated success leading without authority across multiple teams4+ years working with Machine Learning/AI production systems3+ years building and operating large-scale distributed systems and microservices architectures
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.
Other Requirements:
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.Proven track record shipping ML inference platforms or AI-powered products at scale with measurable customer and business impact Deep knowledge in ML inference technologies: model serving frameworks, LLM inference platforms, model optimization, and GPU resource management Experience guiding full-stack development spanning backend services (C#/.NET, Python) and frontend applications (React, TypeScript) Security domain knowledge (threat detection, SIEM/SOAR, attack pattern recognition) and familiarity with security analyst workflows Experience with Azure infrastructure: AKS, Event Hub, Kusto/ADX, Cosmos DB, Redis, and Infrastructure as Code (Bicep, Helm) Background in API design: REST, gRPC, OpenAPI, versioning strategies, and backward compatibility Demonstrated success mentoring engineers and influencing technical direction without direct authority
#MSFT Security #NEXTAI #AI #MSEC #MSECAI #SENTINELAI
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.
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