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Job Details
Posted date: Jan 23, 2026
There have been 3 jobs posted with the title of Principal Design Architect all time at Microsoft.Category: Product Design
Location: Redmond, WA
Estimated salary: $222,050
Range: $139,900 - $304,200
Employment type: Full-Time
Work location type: 4 days / week in-office
Role: Individual Contributor
Description
OverviewAbout Microsoft AI (MAI)
Microsoft AI (MAI) is a newly formed organization advancing Copilot and other consumer AI products. We partner across Bing, Edge, MSN, and Shopping to shape the future of AIpowered personal computing. Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We innovate with a growth mindset, build on respect, integrity, and accountability, and foster a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive.
The MAI Brand and Design Systems team is building a cohesive, AInative design system that unifies Microsoft products across desktop, web, and mobile—creating fast, scalable, and intuitive experiences for our customers.
Why Join Us?
Shape the future of consumer AI experiencesCollaborate with teams worldwideAdvance intuitive, inclusive, trustworthy AIWork in a culture that encourages creativity and rapid experimentation Role Overview
As a Principal Design Architect (also known as a Creative Technologist), you’ll be a highlevel individual contributor working at the intersection of design systems, engineering, and AI tooling. You’ll define how Microsoft’s design system evolves in the AI era—building adaptive, intelligent systems that accelerate designer and developer workflows.
Your work spans intelligent tools, designtocode automation, and AIaugmented processes that boost velocity and quality at scale. This isn’t just about UI design; it’s about shaping AI behavior and how people collaborate with machine intelligence.
You Will:
Continue to explore emerging AI techniques—prompting, prototyping, and experimentationBuild handson prototypes that advance design ideasPartner with engineering and data science to influence systems, model requirements, and AI behaviorsDrive strategic decisions that shape longterm AI experience patternsWork simultaneously on present execution and 6–12month future visionElevate team fluency through coaching, frameworks, and crossdisciplinary collaboration
Responsibilities
Bring an AIforward mindset; evaluate system behavior and define quality for complex scenariosBlend design craft with technical curiosity, working beyond pixels using real data and prototypesInfluence across PM, Engineering, Data Science, Research, and DesignProvide strategic design vision and business rationaleBuild AIpowered tools and pipelines that move concepts to production quicklyEmbed advanced AI capabilities into the design system for adaptability and workflow integrationPrototype intelligent components and adaptive UI patternsOperationalize LLMs, generative UI, and multimodal systems into practical workflowsEnsure seamless designsystemtocode integration using AIdriven utilitiesAct as a force multiplier—accelerating cycles, scaling quality, and shaping AIaugmented design
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 6+ years experience working in product or service designOR Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in product or service designOR equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems)Preferred Qualifications
Experience with LLMs, generative UI, and broader AI/ML technologiesExperience designing AI/LLMpowered experiences; familiarity with conversational and voice systemsStrong foundation in design systems and frontend engineeringAbility to prototype and ship intelligent designtocode workflows Proficiency in Figma and AI prototyping tools; experience with design automation and component librariesPortfolio demonstrating strong visual design craftAbility to thrive in fastpaced, evolving environmentsStrong communication and storytelling skillsCollaborative mindset across design, engineering, and researchExperience influencing technical decisions and strategic design directionExperience shipping products, services, or games end-to-endPortfolio including AI behavior, model shaping, orchestration, or agentbased prototypesExperience with agents, tool integration, or evaluation frameworksComfort with ambiguity in AI systems, including uncertainty and fallbacks
Product Design 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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