Software Engineering IC6

In the Microsoft Frontier Company, you won’t just build software; you’ll deliver real outcomes for some of the world’s most complex organizations.

We are a global team of world-class engineers who have been working in a Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) model for more than a decade, embedding directly within customer teams to solve their toughest challenges, side-by-side, and shipping production-ready solutions in days, not months.

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will bring strong software design and engineering expertise, building reliable systems and production-ready services that turn ideas and data-driven insights into scalable solutions. You’ll work in small, multidisciplinary crews alongside data scientists, product managers, and domain experts, owning the full lifecycle from design through to deployed solutions.

Our work is powered by AI, applying the mindset and tooling across the entire development lifecycle to move from idea to production in days while maintaining the highest standards of security, quality, and trust.

This role offers the opportunity to:

• Build reliable, production-ready systems and services that turn ideas into scalable solutions
• Ship engineering work that directly influences business strategy and customer outcomes
• Collaborate with leading global organizations across industries
• Apply the latest advancements in AI and software engineering to solve problems at scale

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

• Security and responsible engineering: Design, build, and ship secure software by default; apply Microsoft security and privacy practices, threat modeling, and safe deployment patterns to protect customers and the Microsoft cloud.
• Lead discovery with customers and stakeholders: Partner with customer engineering teams and domain experts to understand business goals, constraints, and success measures; translate them into clear technical requirements and solution approaches.
• Deliver end-to-end solutions: Architect and implement cloud and AI solutions-from prototype to production-using modern engineering practices (code reviews, testing, CI/CD, observability) and partnering closely with Microsoft product teams and partners.
• Move fast with quality: Use iterative delivery to de-risk technical decisions early, improve reliability through automation, and continuously learn and adapt as customer needs evolve.
• Drive measurable customer impact: Deliver solutions that meet agreed success metrics, support adoption, and enable customer teams through coaching, knowledge transfer, and clear documentation.
• Build reusable, scalable assets: Create reference implementations, frameworks, and best-practice patterns that can be reused across customers and contribute to the broader Microsoft ecosystem.
• Lead through ambiguity: Navigate complex, fast-changing problem spaces (especially in AI) and guide teams toward pragmatic decisions that balance value, feasibility, compliance, and risk.
• Collaborate across disciplines: Work effectively with product, design, data science, security, and operations partners; create an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives improve outcomes.
• Technical leadership and mentoring: Set technical direction, unblock teams, and mentor engineers through design reviews and hands-on guidance; influence senior stakeholders by communicating tradeoffs and recommendations clearly.
• Embody our culture and values

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications (RQs/MQs)

• Bachelor'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 equivalent experience.
• Experience partnering directly with customers or internal stakeholders to deliver solutions end-to-end.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications (PQs)

• Master'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 Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 15+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Experience designing, deploying, and operating AI or LLM-based solutions, including prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented approaches, model tuning, evaluation, data quality, performance monitoring, and use of cloud AI platforms

• Familiarity with deploying and operating AI systems in production environments
• Understanding of model evaluation, data quality, and performance monitoring
• Experience using cloud AI platforms (Azure ML, OpenAI, or similar)

• Enjoy travel and are comfortable with travel up to 25%

Software Engineering IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $165,600 - $296,400 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 $220,800 - $331,200 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.