Principal Software Engineer
Microsoft · Posted Oct 11
Software, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and hardware services
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About the role
The Windows + Devices Fundamentals team improves the reliability, performance, responsiveness, battery life, memory efficiency, and overall health of Windows devices. The team builds and operates the services, telemetry systems, and data pipelines that turn signals from labs and the installed base into trustworthy metrics, actionable diagnostics, and measurable engineering improvements. This Principal Software Engineer role defines the technical direction and architecture for Windows Fundamentals backend services, telemetry platforms, data pipelines, metrics, and diagnostic workflows, and solves the portfolio's most complex technical problems.
What you will do
- Define the technical strategy and architecture for Windows Fundamentals backend services, telemetry systems, data pipelines, metrics, cohort frameworks, and diagnostic capabilities.
- Lead the design of scalable systems for telemetry ingestion, transformation, orchestration, storage, health monitoring, analytics, diagnostics, and automated engineering workflows.
- Set technical standards for service reliability, security, compliance, privacy, observability, data quality, schema evolution, deployment safety, incident response, and operational excellence.
- Lead the most complex cross-system investigations involving large-scale telemetry, statistical analysis, systems debugging, service behavior, and Windows product-health signals.
- Create architectural simplifications, automation, and AI-assisted capabilities that detect issues earlier, reduce operational toil, and increase engineering leverage across Windows.
- Use data, customer insights, and business priorities to frame ambiguous problems, evaluate portfolio tradeoffs, manage technical risk, and drive measurable outcomes.
- Serve as a technical authority and hands-on contributor; mentor senior engineers, lead design reviews, build alignment across teams, and influence Windows engineering, data science, security, silicon, OEM, and service partners.
Skills used in this role
What the employer is looking for
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 10+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python. OR equivalent experience.
- Extensive experience architecting and delivering backend services, distributed systems, data pipelines, telemetry platforms, large-scale analytics, or engineering infrastructure.
- Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-team technical initiatives and delivering highly reliable production systems or platforms at scale.
- Deep technical judgment in service architecture, systems design, data engineering, security, reliability, debugging, and engineering tradeoffs.
- Solid programming and hands-on problem-solving skills, with the ability to move between architecture, implementation, investigation, and operational response.
- Ability to set technical strategy, navigate ambiguity, prioritize investments using data, and influence decisions across organizational boundaries without direct authority.
- Deep experience with cloud services, distributed systems, data engineering, telemetry platforms, developer infrastructure, or business-critical production operations.
- Solid knowledge of Windows Fundamentals, Windows internals, reliability engineering, performance analysis, power efficiency, or system-level diagnostics.
- Experience designing secure and compliant services with solid observability, deployment controls, data-quality practices, live-site response, and operational accountability.
- Experience defining organizational metrics, cohorts, baselines, and measurement strategies using large-scale telemetry, experimentation, statistical analysis, or Azure data platforms.
- Track record of influencing architecture and product strategy, applying automation or AI to engineering workflows, mentoring senior engineers, and collaborating with executive and senior technical stakeholders.
- 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.
Benefits and support
- Compensation and benefits are detailed in the job posting
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products, services, and hardware devices. Best known for its Windows operating systems, Microsoft 365 productivity suite, and Xbox gaming consoles, the company has expanded heavily into enterprise cloud computing via Azure and advanced artificial intelligence solutions. As one of the world's most valuable public enterprises, it empowers individuals and businesses globally through innovative digital transformation.
- Industry
- Software
- Company size
- 228,000+ employees
- Founded
- April 4, 1975
- Location
- Redmond, Washington, USA
- Funding stage
- Public Company
Leadership
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Vice Chair and President
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