Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

About The Position

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the world, and the best is yet to come! At Microsoft AI, we are at the forefront of enhancing AI capabilities and making them accessible to everyone. In this exciting project within the AI and Search team, you will evangelize a platform to provide Large Language Models (LLMs) with up-to-date information from the web to reduce hallucinations, allow answering questions beyond the training data and increase users confidence by returning links that confirm the model’s answer. Our team of engineers is dedicated to working on the latest technological trends in Grounding AI, Agents, responsible AI, security, and privacy. We strive to take the best ideas and turn them into innovative business strategies and products. We are looking for a senior technical leader to help partners successfully integrate with the APIs powering the agentic web. As a Principal Solutions Engineer you will sit at the intersection of engineering, product, and partner success, helping external teams understand our platform and onboard effectively. You will work directly with partner engineering teams to clarify technical requirements, shape integration approaches, and develop solutions that make the best use of our APIs, schemas, and platform capabilities. This role is highly technical and customer-facing, with a solid emphasis on solution design, technical enablement, and strategic partnership. The ideal candidate combines deep experience with APIs, platforms, and system integrations with the ability to influence across technical and non-technical stakeholders. You are comfortable engaging with senior partner engineers, identifying technical roadblocks, and translating complex requirements into actionable solutions in collaboration with internal engineering teams. You are proactive, data-driven, and effective in ambiguous environments, with solid ownership, sound judgment, and a bias for solving problems. You bring professionalism, adaptability, and integrity, and you know how to build trust while handling sensitive information with care. 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. Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

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.

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 12+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.
Deep experience with APIs, platforms, systems integration, and technical solution design.
Solid communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly to both engineering and non-engineering audiences.
A track record of working directly with partners or customers to solve technical problems and drive successful implementations.
The ability to connect strategic thinking with hands-on execution and move effectively between high-level planning and detailed problem-solving.
Solid cross-functional leadership and the ability to build trust across engineering, product, customer success, and partner teams.
A history of leading complex, ambiguous, cross-organizational initiatives and driving them to successful outcomes.
Sound technical judgment, a high degree of independence, and the ability to identify and remove obstacles proactively.
Curiosity about AI, Search, and emerging technologies, along with a commitment to continuous learning.
Professionalism, integrity, and discretion in handling sensitive information and strategic partner matters.

Responsibilities

Serve as a technical partner for strategic external and internal partners adopting our APIs and platform capabilities.
Guide partners through technical onboarding by helping them understand our APIs, schemas, platform architecture, and integration patterns.
Work directly with partner engineering teams to clarify technical requirements, evaluate constraints, and design practical, scalable integration solutions.
Partner with product, engineering, and customer success teams to remove onboarding blockers and drive successful partner implementations.
Translate partner needs and feedback into clear product requirements, technical recommendations, and prioritized engineering inputs.
Influence the design and evolution of APIs, platform capabilities, and integration patterns based on partner use cases and ecosystem needs.
Contribute to a high-quality technical foundation by participating in architecture discussions, design reviews, and code reviews where needed.
Help ensure the reliability, scalability, security, and maintainability of the services and platform capabilities that support partner and product experiences.
Bring a solid point of view on emerging developments in AI, Search, APIs, and developer platforms, and apply that thinking to improve partner outcomes and platform strategy.
Support teammates by sharing technical context, raising the quality of solution design, and helping drive complex deliverables to completion.