Principal Data Architect

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

2d

About The Position

The Copilot Data Platform (CDP) team is at the heart of Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more—by enabling the next generation of AI-powered productivity. We build the foundational data infrastructure that supports Microsoft 365 Copilot experiences. Our platform ingests, curates, and serves compliant, privacy-preserving datasets at scale, supporting both offline and online evaluation, model fine-tuning, and feedback loops. We partner deeply with engineering, data science, and product teams to accelerate innovation across Microsoft’s AI ecosystem. As part of the CDP team, you’ll work on cutting-edge challenges in data engineering, analytics, and platform design—powering one of the largest and most advanced AI systems in the world.
We’re looking for a Principal Data Architect who will be responsible for designing, developing and delivering future-proof data products that support Copilot product innovation via agile data onboarding, high quality data, and a reliable data platform, all the while working closely with internal partners and LT. We value curiosity, collaboration, and a growth mindset, and we’re looking for bold thinkers who are excited to shape the future of AI at Microsoft.
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.

Requirements

• 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.
• Great communication skills, including writing technical design documents, and articulating them verbally, are a must.

Nice To Haves

• 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.
• Previous experience working in big data processing, data modeling, ETL, data analysis is highly desirable.
• Previous experience driving cross-group architecture discussions, resolving conflict, technically mentoring junior and senior team members is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical architecture decisions to design and develop large-scale and high-quality data and experimentation services with easy-to-use APIs.
• Focus on automating and enabling self-serve capabilities in the platform to empower other teams to build such highly efficient and reliable datasets.
• Build strong cross group collaboration with other cross-geo teams to remove blockers and drive for comprehensive end-end solution delivery.
• Foster a deep understanding of the data systems and semantics and its usage by our customers. Leverage this understanding to drive data system improvements and educate customers on optimal use of our systems for their scenarios.
• Leverage other data platforms (open source and within Microsoft) for building solutions.
• Work very closely with multiple data infrastructure teams including Azure Data Lake, Azure Data Factory, AML, etc. to deeply understand cloud computing techniques; drive feature requests into those platforms as needed and leverage them to design and develop our data foundation.
• Leverage AI for productivity and improving customer experience with our offerings.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees