Principal Software Engineering Manager, CoreAI

Job ID: 200043562Posted: 2026-11-11Location: United States, Washington, RedmondSalary: USD $142,800 - $274,800 per yearEmployment type: Full-TimeWork site: 3 days / week in-officeRole type: People ManagerTravel: Less than 25%Profession: Software EngineeringDiscipline: Software EngineeringCompany: MicrosoftOverviewMicrosoft is a company where passionate innovators come to collaborate, envision what can be, and take their careers further. This is a world of more possibilities, more innovation, more openness, and the sky is the limit thinking in a cloud-enabled world. The CoreAI organization at Microsoft builds the end-to-end AI stack and is core to Azure AI innovation and differentiation, as well as all of Microsoft’s flagship products, from GitHub, to Office, Teams, and Xbox. We are the team building Responsible AI, Azure OpenAI, Model as a Service, Azure ML, Cognitive Services, and the global Azure AI infrastructure for running the largest AI workloads on the planet. We do not just value differences or different perspectives. We seek them out and invite them in so we can tap into the collective power of everyone in the company. As a result, our customers are better served. Within CoreAI, the Foundry team empowers builders around the world of all skill level to easily create AI apps. The Responsible AI group focuses on identifying, measuring, mitigating, and monitoring Responsible AI risks in AI-generated and human-generated content spanning text, image, audio, video, and multimodal content. We are looking for a Principal Software Engineering Manager who is passionate about building customer-facing AI services with scalable and sustainable architecture and implementation and with high performance, low latency, and high availability. In this role, as a Principal Software Engineering Manager you will lead a team of software engineers and work closely with partner teams of engineers, scientists, and product managers to build the industry's best Responsible AI services. You will get a chance to be hands on with the team collaborating on the technical artifacts, leadership, and team process. 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.   In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.  ResponsibilitiesLead a team of software engineers, hiring, growing, and upskilling their talent Review the design and code artifacts that make up large-scale distributed cloud services and solutions with a focus on high availability, scalability, robustness, and observability. Lead project development across the organization and work with subject matter experts and stakeholders to drive development and release plans. Ensure systems owned by the team meet business requirements and service KPIs. Take end-to-end responsibility for the development lifecycle and production readiness of the services the team builds and drive the team’s DevOps culture. Ensure the team follows best practices of modern software engineering through code and design reviews and take effective service decisions based on data and telemetry. Understand Microsoft businesses and collaborate with stakeholders towards cohesive, end-to-end experiences for Microsoft customers. Embrace a growth mindset and stay up to date with the current and state-of-the-art technologies to improve customer experience and better serve the product’s business needs. QualificationsRequired QualificationsBachelor'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 QualificationsMaster'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 PythonOR 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 PythonOR equivalent experience.5+ years of directly managing software engineers building backend services, cloud infrastructure, or platforms5+ years technical engineering experience designing and delivering highly available, large-scale cloud services and distributed systems.4+ years of technical engineering experience with machine learning model infrastructure, hosting, and operations.Ability to navigate the company and influence and inspire peers in engineering and broad product development.Demonstrate depth of knowledge and understanding of software architecture, design tradeoffs, and practices of mature DevOps culture.The track record of pursuing and delivering innovative insights that translate to value generation. Software Engineering M5 - 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.