Principal Software Engineer Manager- CTJ - Poly

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

6d•$142,800 - $304,200

About The Position

Microsoft's Intelligent Conversations and Communications Cloud (IC3) is the foundational cloud platform powering critical Microsoft services like Microsoft Teams. IC3 operates at a global scale, ensuring high availability, reliability, security, and compliance for demanding communications workloads. We are looking for a Principal Software Engineering Manager to lead a team of Site Reliability Engineers and Software Engineers. This role is responsible for building and operating IC3 services in highly regulated and enterprise-critical environments. The ideal candidate will possess strong technical depth, operational judgment, and people leadership skills, with the ability to scale impact through others while maintaining a connection to engineering fundamentals and service health. As a principal-level manager, you will define and drive technical and organizational strategy, develop senior engineering leaders, and collaborate with engineering, security, compliance, and operations teams to ensure IC3 services are reliable by design. Your accountability will be for delivering robust engineering systems, a strong operational posture, and a healthy, high-performing organization capable of sustaining long-term business growth. Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our employees embody a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to achieve shared goals. We uphold values of respect, integrity, and accountability to foster an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.

Requirements

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.
Candidates must be able to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements.
The successful candidate must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret Clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) based on a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) with Polygraph.
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role.
Failure to maintain or obtain the appropriate U.S. Government clearance and/or customer screening requirements may result in employment action up to and including termination.
This position requires successful verification of the stated security clearance to meet federal government customer requirements.
You will be asked to provide clearance verification information prior to an offer of employment.
This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
This position requires verification of U.S. citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions.
Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local United States government agency customer and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law.
To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport, or other approved documents, or verified US government Clearance.

Nice To Haves

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 10+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

Lead a set of Software Engineering and Site Reliability ICs, ensuring strong software engineering fundamentals, clear technical direction, and high-quality execution across the engineering lifecycle that closes feature gaps between our cloud offerings and builds reliable, software-based systems for operational tasks.
Establish and drive technical and organizational strategy for your area, aligning engineering investments with business priorities and long-term platform goals.
Guide engineering design and architecture decisions, ensuring reliability, diagnosability, security, and compliance are embedded early and consistently.
Drive strong incident management, learning culture, and post-incident reviews, emphasizing systemic improvements and long-term resilience.
Develop senior and principal-level talent, including succession planning for managers and technical leaders.
Partner closely with product, security, compliance, infrastructure, and operations teams to deliver durable, auditable, and scalable services.
Communicate clearly and credibly with leadership, articulating risks, tradeoffs, priorities, and progress across technical and organizational dimensions.