Principal Cloud Network Engineer

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

5d • $142,800 - $304,200

About The Position

Microsoft’s Azure Global Networking team designs, builds, and operates the optical, wide-area, and edge networks connecting Azure regions and the wider world. The team is developing the next generation of this network by rethinking how optical, packet, and control layers work together; adopting open hardware and software; bringing emerging optical and fiber technologies into production; and using automation and robotics to improve how physical infrastructure is built and maintained.

As a Principal Cloud Network Engineer, you will own significant parts of the next-generation network architecture, advance hardware disaggregation, and help shape the use of automation and robotics in physical network construction and operations. You will work across optical networking, packet networking, software, and physical infrastructure on a network that must remain continuously available. The role takes concepts from design through lab validation, pilots, and deployment at global scale, while providing technical leadership across engineering teams and external partners.

Requirements

• Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field and at least 3 years of technical experience in network design, development, and automation; or a master’s degree in one of these fields and at least 4 years of such experience; or a bachelor’s degree in one of these fields and at least 6 years of such experience; or equivalent experience.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.
• Preferred: Doctorate in a listed or related field and at least 5 years of technical experience in network design, development, and automation; or a master’s degree and at least 8 years; or a bachelor’s degree and at least 12 years; or equivalent experience.
• Preferred: At least 3 years delivering network designs into production and live-site accountability for a network.
• Preferred: At least 1 year developing quality management programs.
• Preferred: Deep expertise in at least one area and working fluency in at least one other: optical networking and photonics; large-scale network architecture; or infrastructure software and systems.
• Preferred: At least 1 year disaggregating a network or optical system, deploying a software-defined network or optical controller at scale, bringing new optical technology into production, or automating physical infrastructure work.
• Preferred: At least 1 year of experience with optical circuit or protection switching, coherent pluggables such as 400ZR and 800ZR, open line systems, hollow core fiber, or other novel fiber.
• Preferred: Experience with merchant silicon, white-box platforms, or open network operating systems such as SONiC.
• Preferred: Experience with robotics, machine vision, or mechatronics applied to hardware manufacturing, testing, datacenter, or field operations.
• Preferred: Experience building network simulations, digital twins, or capacity and failure models.
• Preferred: Experience applying AI or agentic systems to infrastructure design, operations, or automation.
• Preferred: Experience working with silicon vendors, ODMs, optical suppliers, or contract manufacturers on multi-year roadmaps.
• Preferred: Proficiency in at least one programming language such as Python, Go, C++, or Rust.

Nice To Haves

• Doctorate in a listed or related field and at least 5 years of technical experience in network design, development, and automation; or a master’s degree and at least 8 years; or a bachelor’s degree and at least 12 years; or equivalent experience.
• At least 3 years delivering network designs into production and live-site accountability for a network.
• At least 1 year developing quality management programs.
• Deep expertise in at least one area and working fluency in at least one other: optical networking and photonics; large-scale network architecture; or infrastructure software and systems.
• At least 1 year disaggregating a network or optical system, deploying a software-defined network or optical controller at scale, bringing new optical technology into production, or automating physical infrastructure work.
• Experience with optical circuit or protection switching, coherent pluggables such as 400ZR and 800ZR, open line systems, hollow core fiber, or other novel fiber.
• Experience with merchant silicon, white-box platforms, or open network operating systems such as SONiC.
• Experience with robotics, machine vision, or mechatronics applied to hardware manufacturing, testing, datacenter, or field operations.
• Experience building network simulations, digital twins, or capacity and failure models.
• Experience applying AI or agentic systems to infrastructure design, operations, or automation.
• Experience working with silicon vendors, ODMs, optical suppliers, or contract manufacturers on multi-year roadmaps.
• Proficiency in at least one programming language such as Python, Go, C++, or Rust.

Responsibilities

• Own significant parts of the multi-year architecture for Azure’s global network across optical, packet, and control layers, designing for independently evolving capacity, topology, and protection and limiting the reach of changes or failures.
• Advance hardware disaggregation from vendor-integrated systems toward open, interchangeable components, including merchant silicon, open network operating systems such as SONiC, open optical line systems, and pluggable and co-packaged optics.
• Define requirements, evaluate platforms, and work with silicon vendors, ODMs, and optical suppliers to shape long-term technology roadmaps.
• Drive the integration of optical circuit switching, optical protection switching, coherent transport, and hollow core fiber into network design, including interfaces, telemetry, and control models.
• Identify and pilot uses for automation and robotics in physical network inspection, installation quality, fiber and connector handling, hardware qualification, and repetitive lab and technician work; scale successful pilots against quality, safety, and cost goals.
• Use and extend network simulation, digital twins, and lab automation to validate architectures, capacity plans, and changes before production; define appropriate boundaries for automated physical actions and human approval.
• Apply AI and agentic systems to engineering across design, qualification, deployment, and operations.
• Take concepts from design through prototype, qualification, pilot, and global deployment.
• Lead across Azure engineering, hardware, supply chain, datacenter operations, Microsoft Research, and external partners; mentor engineers, raise technical standards, and communicate trade-offs to technical and senior audiences.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal