Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

15d • $142,800 - $274,800

About The Position

As a Principal Software Engineer on Microsoft Security Exposure Management (MSEM), you will help build a platform that enables organizations to see, understand, and reduce security risk before attackers can exploit it. The role is part of Microsoft Security’s Securing AI pillar and involves designing and shipping services that discover assets, map attack paths, quantify exposure, and support remediation in an increasingly AI-driven threat landscape.

You will write production code across the full stack, address challenges involving scale and rich data, and work with other organizations to help customers adopt AI securely. The position offers hands-on experience with security challenges and datasets associated with AI-driven threats. Microsoft describes its mission as empowering people and organizations to achieve more, and emphasizes a growth mindset, innovation, collaboration, respect, integrity, accountability, and inclusion.

The role requires passing Microsoft and Microsoft Cloud background checks upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter. The U.S. base pay range is $142,800–$274,800 per year, with a range of $188,000–$304,200 for specified locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metropolitan area. The role may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled, and the position will remain open for at least five days.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related technical field and 6+ years of technical engineering experience coding in languages including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python, or equivalent experience.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including the Microsoft and Microsoft Cloud background checks upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.

Nice To Haves

• 4+ years designing, building, and operating scalable cloud services or distributed systems on Azure, AWS, or GCP, with production ownership and CI/CD integration.
• 4+ years programming in C#, Java, Go, or Python.

Responsibilities

• Design and ship end-to-end features in scalable, high-throughput distributed systems.
• Own components from design discussions through deployment and learn to operate services reliably in production at Microsoft scale.
• Own the quality, performance, and operational health of developed software through testing, telemetry, and thoughtful error handling.
• Help shape project scope and technical direction by turning ambiguous problems in attack-path analysis, asset discovery, and AI-driven risk into defined, achievable actions.
• Collaborate across teams to achieve shared goals and provide support and clear thinking to colleagues.
• Work on Securing AI challenges and the large, rich datasets used by MSEM.

What This Job Offers

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