Principal Software Engineer

Job ID: 200063308Posted: 2026-10-23Location: United States, Washington, RedmondSalary: USD $165,600 - $296,400 per yearEmployment type: Full-TimeWork site: 3 days / week in-officeRole type: Individual ContributorTravel: Less than 25%Profession: Software EngineeringDiscipline: Software EngineeringCompany: MicrosoftOverviewSecurity represents the most critical priorities for our customers in a world awash in digital threats, regulatory scrutiny, and estate complexity. Microsoft Security aspires to make the world a safer place for all. We want to reshape security and empower every user, customer, and developer with a security cloud that protects them with end to end, simplified solutions. The Microsoft Security organization accelerates Microsoft’s mission and bold ambitions to ensure that our company and industry is securing digital technology platforms, devices, and clouds in our customers’ heterogeneous environments, as well as ensuring the security of our own internal estate. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world.Microsoft Entra ID (formerly known as Azure Active Directory) is at the center of Microsoft’s cloud strategy. We build and operate critical authentication, authorization and directory services that are used by the millions of Azure, Office 365, XBOX and Windows users worldwide. In the mobile-first cloud-first world, sign-in and sign-up is the front door for reliable end user experience to use any of Microsoft cloud services.    Entra ID hosts millions of tenants and billions of identities. It serves billions of requests per day in the stacks powering core authentication and programmability.  The backend directory store is at the heart of Entra ID architecture.  Our team is evolving the directory store platform to address the needs for the next decade. You will have an opportunity to work on the latest technologies in storage and distributed systems and apply innovative algorithms for solving problems at scale and high performance. We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our teamMicrosoft’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.ResponsibilitiesDesign and develop large-scale distributed software services and solutions. Drive modern software engineering practices through design and code reviews.Perform system design with well-defined interfaces across multiple components, leveraging data/telemetry to inform decisions.Develop best-in-class engineering for our services, ensuring components are modular, secure, reliable, diagnosable, actively monitored, and reusable. Improve test coverage, organize and implement integration tests, and resolve problem areas.Prioritize testability, portability, monitoring, reliability, and maintainability; understand when code is ready to be shared and delivered.Gain a working understanding of Microsoft businesses and collaborate with mentors and leaders to contribute to cohesive, end-to-end user experiences, with a focus on customer/partner needs through a data-driven approach.Troubleshoot and optimize automation, reliability, and monitoring for Live Site. Embody our culture and valuesQualificationsRequired 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. 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. 5+ years of experience designing, building, and operating scalable, highly available cloud services or distributed systems on platforms such as Azure, AWS, GCP, or comparable cloud environments, with production ownership and CI/CD pipeline integration.3+ years of experience building systems with emphasis on reliability, durability, and operational efficiency, including experience with live site operations, incident response, and performance optimization.​Experience leading projects from conception to delivery (Design, Code Review, Delivery, etc.)#MSFTSecuritySoftware 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: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.