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Job Details
Posted date: Jan 17, 2026
There have been 2338 jobs posted with the title of Principal Software Engineer all time at Microsoft.There have been 2338 Principal Software 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
OverviewIn Azure, we are redefining the nature of software in the network by writing the software that runs on the switches and building massive distributed systems to control Microsoft’s Cloud Datacenters.
We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) team. SONiC team owns all the software that is running on the switches and routers. We have lots of interesting problems to solve, such as supporting new generation switches ranging from 100G/400G/800G to 1.6T. The team is also building a vibrant open-source community for the switch software, which is adopted by various other cloud providers.
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
Partners with appropriate stakeholders to determine user requirements for a set of scenarios.Leads identification of dependencies and the development of design documents for a product, application, service, or platform.Leads by example and mentors others to produce extensible and maintainable code used across products.Leverages subject-matter expertise of cross-product features with appropriate stakeholders (e.g., project managers) to drive multiple group's project plans, release plans, and work items.Proactively seeks new knowledge and adapts to new trends, technical solutions, and patterns that will improve the availability, reliability, efficiency, observability, and performance of products while also driving consistency in monitoring and operations at scale and shares knowledge with other engineers.Holds accountability as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI), mentoring engineers across products/solutions, working on-call to monitor system/product/service for degradation, downtime, or interruptions.
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#, Python, or Rust.OR equivalent experience.
Other Qualifications:
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:
Bachelor's Degree in Computer ScienceOR related technical field AND 10+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Python, or Rust.OR 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#, Python, or Rust.OR equivalent experience.6+ years of development experience with TCP/IP networking protocols Experience with open-source technologies such as SONiC, SAI, Linux, Docker is desirable.
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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