Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft is a company where passionate innovators come together to collaborate, envision what is possible, and take their careers further. Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

Microsoft's Data & AI organization is transforming how customers store, manage, analyze, and act on data through products including Microsoft Fabric, Azure SQL, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Power BI. Together, these platforms power mission-critical analytics, data-driven decision making, and a new generation of AI-powered applications.

Microsoft Fabric is building the next generation of analytics for the age of AI. Fabric Data Warehouse powers enterprise-scale workloads through a distributed query processing engine designed to deliver high performance, elasticity, reliability, and efficiency across massive data volumes.

The Fabric Data Warehouse Distributed Query Processing (DQP) team is hiring a Principal Software Engineer to help define the long-term technical vision and architecture of the DQP platform. In this role, you will drive the long-term strategy and evolution of core query processing technologies, with a special focus on Autonomous Workload Management. You will partner across engineering organizations to solve some of the most challenging problems in large-scale distributed systems, enabling analytics experiences that serve customers at cloud scale.

This role is ideal for a technical leader who combines deep systems expertise with strong architectural judgment and the ability to influence across organizational boundaries. You will help shape the future of query processing within Microsoft Fabric by driving innovation, mentoring engineers, and guiding the platform's evolution to meet the growing demands of data and AI workloads.

• Define and drive the long-term technical vision and architecture for the Fabric Data Warehouse Distributed Query Processing (DQP) platform, ensuring scalability, reliability, performance, and operational excellence at cloud scale.

• Lead the design and evolution of core query processing technologies, including distributed execution, scheduling, resource management, workload isolation, and performance optimization.

• Partner closely with engineering, product management, design, data science, and partner teams across Microsoft to deliver end-to-end solutions that connect customer needs with measurable business outcomes.

• Identify and solve fundamental distributed systems problems involving scale, concurrency, fault tolerance, elasticity, efficiency, and service reliability.

• Establish architectural standards, engineering best practices, and technical governance processes through design reviews, technical mentoring, and cross-team collaboration.

• Influence the long-term platform strategy for personalized and collaborative analytics experiences, balancing customer value, scalability, security, and maintainability.

• Mentor and develop senior engineers and technical leaders, fostering a culture of innovation, technical excellence, and customer obsession.

• Lead complex cross-organizational initiatives, aligning stakeholders across multiple teams to deliver strategic capabilities that advance the Microsoft Fabric analytics platform.

• Champion the use of AI-driven development practices, automation, and intelligent observability to improve engineering productivity, accelerate problem resolution, and enhance the health, reliability, and operational efficiency of the platform.

• Embody ourculture and values.

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.

Additional 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.

• Strong distributed systems experience and understanding of scale, resiliency, and reliability patterns.

• Strong AI-first mindset and growth orientation, with a passion for exploring new technologies and ways of working to improve engineering effectiveness and customer outcomes.

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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:

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.