Principal Software Engineering Technical Lead

Are you a customer-obsessed, AI-curious problem-solver who thrives in an inclusive, collaborative global team?Join Engineering Operations (EngOps)-the organization driving operational excellence across the Microsoft Cloud to strengthen quality, reliability, security, and customer trust.As part of EngOps, you'll design solutions that prevent issues before they happen, embed AI-powered automation, and turn signals into actions that deliver measurable customer impact. Our culture of empowerment, inclusion, and growth mindset defines how we work.

The Principal Software Engineering Technical Lead will play a pivotal role in shaping our technical strategy and accelerating the organization's transition to AI-first operations. This role partners closely with engineering and operational leaders to define, validate, and operationalize technical approaches that improve reliability, efficiency, and decision-making across cloud services. The ideal candidate has hands-on experience implementing AI to streamline and automate operational workflows, reduce toil, and enhance service performance at scale. They bring strong systems thinking, the ability to translate complex technical signals into actionable plans, and a track record of driving measurable improvements in cloud service operations through AI-enabled capabilities.

Every day, customers stake their business and reputation on our cloud. You can help #EngOps keep them secure, resilient, and ready.

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.

• Lead end-to-end technical design and implementation of AI capabilities that support the org's AI transformation agenda (e.g., copilots, automation, insights for LT/XLT and broader teams).
• Work directly with the CVP and the LT to turn loosely defined AI ideas and offsite outcomes into concrete technical roadmaps, prototypes, and production grade solutions.
• Build and own durable AI/ML systems and pipelines (incl. data, evaluation, safety/guardrails, and observability) that can be reused across multiple teams and scenarios.
• Partner with product, operations, and HR/learning stakeholders to identify high impact AI use cases, define success metrics, and iterate quickly based on feedback and usage data.
• Establish engineering standards and best practices for AI work in the org (coding, review, experimentation, privacy/security, and responsible AI), and mentor other engineers in adopting them.
• Act as the "first customer" and technical voice in leadership
• Decisive, collaborative, and innovative leadership style.
• Communication skills with the ability to influence both technical and executive audiences.

Required/minimum qualifications

• 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.

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.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• 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.
• 12+ years designing or architecting distributed systems, cloud platforms, or AI-enabled services.
• Experience applying AI/ML to developer workflows, engineering systems, and test automation.
• Proven ability to drive multi-year platform strategy, architecture governance, and large-scale modernization efforts.
• Deep experience with agent-to-agent communication and AI orchestration patterns.
• Understanding of the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
• Experience integrating external tools, APIs, and data systems into LLM pipelines.
• Ability to design and operate secure, multi-tenant AI execution environments with isolation and throttle controls.

Software Engineering IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $163,000 - $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.