Microsoft · 5 hours ago
Principal Software Engineer
United States
Full-time
Remote
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$140K/yr - $275K/yr
6+ years expMicrosoft is at the forefront of cloud networking, focusing on designing and operating resilient infrastructure for Azure services. The Principal Software Engineer will lead the design and implementation of distributed systems and networking data paths, driving innovation in cloud-native networking and AI-driven infrastructure while mentoring engineers and fostering a collaborative culture.
Agentic AIApplication Performance ManagementArtificial Intelligence (AI)Business DevelopmentDevOpsInformation ServicesInformation TechnologyManagement Information SystemsNetwork SecuritySoftware
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Architect and implement distributed systems and networking data paths for cloud-scale Networking services, focusing on reliability, performance, security, and operational excellence
Lead innovation in data plane engineering, including traffic routing, failover and self-healing mechanisms
Drive adoption of advanced distributed algorithms, networking protocols, and AI-driven solutions to optimize scalability and resilience
Mentor and guide engineers in best practices for distributed systems, networking, security, and cloud infrastructure, providing technical leadership through rigorous code and design reviews
Collaborate cross-functionally to deliver end-to-end solutions, from design through deployment and operations
Champion operational excellence by developing robust monitoring, observability, and automated recovery solutions, including AI-powered incident detection and predictive scaling
Other: Embody our Culture and Values
Qualification
Required
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
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
Expertise in distributed consensus, partitioning, replication, and cloud-native networking
Proficiency in C, C++, Rust, Golang, or similar systems programming languages
Linux networking expertise: kernel networking stack, packet processing (DPDK/eBPF/XDP), NIC offloads, TCP/UDP performance tuning, and observability tools applied to high‑throughput, low‑latency data paths
Experience with DNS protocol, large-scale web applications, or cloud infrastructure is a plus
Experience applying AI/Machine Learning (ML) techniques for operational excellence, such as predictive analytics, automated incident detection, or self-healing infrastructure
6+ years of experience designing and building distributed systems or networking data paths at scale
Benefits
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation.
Company
Microsoft
Microsoft is a software corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services.
10001+ employees
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$1MKey Investors
Technology Venture Investors
2022-12-09Post Ipo Equity
1986-03-13IPO
1981-09-01Series Unknown· $1M
Leadership Team
Satya Nadella
Chairman and CEO
Vukani Mngxati
Chief Executive Officer - Microsft South Africa
Recent News
2026-01-16
Morningstar.com
2026-01-16
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