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Job Details
Posted date: Apr 29, 2026
There have been 2796 jobs posted with the title of Principal Software Engineer all time at Microsoft.There have been 2796 Principal Software Engineer jobs posted in the last month.
Category: Software Engineering
Location: Redmond, WA
Estimated salary: $222,050
Range: $139,900 - $304,200
Employment type: Full-Time
Work location type: 3 days / week in-office
Role: Individual Contributor
Description
OverviewMicrosoft is a company where passionate innovators come to collaborate, envision what can be and take their careers further. This is a world of more possibilities, more innovation, more openness, and the sky is the limit thinking in a cloud-enabled world.
Microsoft’s Azure Data engineering team is leading the transformation of analytics in the world of data with products like databases, data integration, big data analytics, messaging & real-time analytics, and business intelligence. The products our portfolio include Microsoft Fabric, Azure SQL DB, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure PostgreSQL, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Service Bus, Azure Event Grid, and Power BI. Our mission is to build the data platform for the age of AI, powering a new class of data-first applications and driving a data culture.
Within Azure Data, the messaging and real-time analytics team provides comprehensive solutions and a robust platform that enables users to ingest high granularity signals (real-time & observability) and complex data, converting those into a competitive advantage in real-time for both end users and modern applications.  
The Observability team within Azure Data is hiring a Principal Software Engineer with deep Kubernetes expertise to help build the cloud-native infrastructure layer for Observability services.
We design and operate planetary scale systems that deliver scalable, secure, reliable and resilient cloud-native platforms for Observability workloads running on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).
We foster a fast‑paced, startup‑like culture focused on shipping early and often, with a strong emphasis on attention to detail, introspection, and accountability. Collaboration is central to how we work: we build on each other’s ideas and empower engineers to innovate from the ground up, delivering world‑class value with speed and impact.
We do not just value differences or different perspectives. We seek them out and invite them in so we can tap into the collective power of everyone in the company. As a result, our customers are better served.
Responsibilities
Lead the design, development, and operation of cloud-native platform components on Kubernetes, with a focus on reliability, networking, security, and observability at scale.Drive end-to-end architecture for large-scale, distributed systems supporting globally deployed services.Design and deliver highly available, scalable systems, ensuring strong performance, resilience, diagnosability, and cost efficiency.Provide technical leadership in Kubernetes-based infrastructure, including service-to-service communication, traffic management, and resiliency patterns.Partner across engineering, platform, and infrastructure teams to define and execute on cross-organizational technical strategy and long-term investments.Guide engineering excellence through design reviews, code reviews, and implementation of best practices across the team.Contribute to the development and operation of systems that incorporate emerging technologies, including AI-enabled capabilities, in a scalable and reliable manner.Coach and mentor engineers, fostering technical growth and raising the overall quality bar across the organization.Drive continuous improvement in system design, operational practices, and engineering processes.Model Microsoft’s culture and values in all aspects of work. Embody 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.
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:
- 6 + years of hands‑on software engineering experience, with significant time spent on distributed systems and cloud infrastructure.
- Deep Kubernetes expertise, including
- Kubernetes internals (control plane, scheduling, networking, storage)
- Containers and cloud‑native architectures
- Advanced Kubernetes networking, traffic management, and reliability patterns
- Strong background in distributed systems design, including consistency, fault tolerance, scalability, and performance tradeoffs.
- Proven experience owning live production systems, including on‑call rotations, incident mitigation, and operational excellence.
- Proficiency in one or more systems languages (e.g., Go, C++, C#, or equivalent).
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.