Principal Software Engineer
Job details
- Pay
- $142,800 – $274,800 a year
- Level
- Staff / principal
- Experience
- 6+ years
- Education
- Bachelor's degree
- Posted
- Sep 24, 2026
- Last confirmed open
- Oct 28, 2026
What you'll need to apply
Fields this application requires
Company-specific questions
- Is your legal name the same as your preferred name?
- Address
- Country/region of residence
- State
- Postal Code/Zip
- Ethnicity/Race
- Gender
- U.S. Armed Forces Status
- Veteran Status
- Are you currently or have you ever been a member of the military, a civilian employee, or an official of any government, whether national, state, local, or foreign?
- Have you signed a non-compete or non-disclosure statement which may become an obstacle to your acceptance at Microsoft?
- Have you ever worked with Microsoft as a full-time / part-time employee, intern, vendor, agency temporary, or business guest? If yes, please provide as much information about your former employment as you can.
- Are you currently employed by a Microsoft subsidiary (e.g., LinkedIn, GitHub, Gaming Studios, Activision, Blizzard, King)?
- As part of the online application process you were asked whether you possess certain minimum required qualifications for the role to which you are applying. By selecting yes, you agree that you answered these questions accurately. You further acknowledge that your answers may result in your application not being considered further for this role if you do not currently meet the required qualifications for the role.
- By checking this you agree to the Microsoft Data Privacy Notice (DPN) .
- By checking this, you affirm that you have familiarized yourself with the Microsoft recruiting process and agree to the candidate code of conduct .
About this role
Overview Join the team behind Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) – the engine powering hyperscale services across AI, cloud-native apps, and mission-critical workloads in Azure. We're building the next generation of resilient, intelligent infrastructure, and we're looking for passionate engineers to help shape it.
If you're passionate about building cloud-scale systems from the ground up, this is your opportunity to make a global impact.
As a Software Engineer in VMSS team, you will design and deliver scalable, resilient, and cloud-native infrastructure services that support millions of cores and serve Fortune 500 customers. This role offers the opportunity to work on high-impact, distributed systems challenges, contribute to new product initiatives from the ground up, and shape the future of Azure’s compute platform.
This opportunity will allow you to influence the direction of Azure’s compute platform and solve complex engineering challenges at hyperscale – all while collaborating with some of the brightest minds in cloud infrastructure.
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
- Design, develop, and operate highly scalable, resilient, and customer-focused cloud services.
- Solve complex, large-scale technical challenges across the Compute platform.
- Own features end-to-end, from design and implementation through deployment and operations to deliver high-quality solutions using agile development and continuous deployment practices.
- Drive service excellence across scalability, availability, security, reliability, disaster recovery, and performance.
- Partner effectively across teams to deliver impactful platform capabilities and customer outcomes.
- Champion engineering best practices through code reviews, design reviews, testing, monitoring, and automation.
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
- Master'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 Bachelor'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 equivalent experience.
#azurecorejobs
Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $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.