Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft•,

3d•$142,800 - $304,200

About The Position

Microsoft is seeking a self-motivated, technically astute Software Engineer for Azure Full Stack development to develop enterprise-grade features impacting millions of learners worldwide. The Global Skilling Product Team (GSPT) aims to develop world-class, innovative Skilling Products & Experiences to inspire customers, partners, and future generations to achieve more through skilling, upskilling, and reskilling, targeting over 100 million learners. The team culture embraces a growth mindset and inspires excellence. As a Principal Software Engineer for Azure Full Stack development, you will be a hands-on engineer and technical authority, leading the design and implementation of sophisticated learning and skilling solutions for Microsoft Skilling platforms and Learning, aligning with strategic goals to reach 100M+ learners. The vision includes making all skilling content accessible across various platforms with AI-assisted features, modernizing content operations, and reimagining release at scale for efficient consumption across platforms like Learn, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Future monetization through learning partners is also a possibility. The role is for individuals who enjoy working in a collaborative, agile environment, applying technical skills and creativity to security challenges and real-world problems.

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.
7+ years of experience in cloud development principles and patterns, particularly loosely coupled architectures, micro-services and DevOps model.
7+ years of experience in leading, managing, and driving technical and architectural dependencies.
7+ years of hands-on experience in developing applications using RESTful APIs, microservices architecture, ASP.NET with a focus on scalable and intelligent enterprise solutions.
3+ years of hands-on, production experience with infrastructure templates and scripts.
Proficient IaaC templates such as ARM templates or Bicep. Experience building build and deployment pipelines from scratch.
Proficiency in C#, .NET, React, JavaScript/TypeScript, or equivalent languages/frameworks.
Observability and data driven mindset. Builds modules, components and pipelines with captured telemetry, error reporting and insightful dashboards
Technical experience and knowledge in Enterprise-scale technical experience with cloud and hybrid infrastructures, architecture designs, migrations, and technology management. Have and development proficiency in: App Platform/Containers/Serverless (App Service, AKS, ACA, Functions), Azure Integration Service (APIM, Logic Apps), DevOps (CI/CD, Azure DevOps), Database (Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, and Azure Data Factory (ADF)
Proven proficient problem solving and debugging skills.
Proven experience optimizing cloud infrastructure for cost savings and operational efficiency.
Solid knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and software design principles.
Proven experience designing and shipping AI/ML or GenAI solutions, including one or more of: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), enterprise search, vector retrieval. LLM orchestration and agentic workflows. AI evaluation/monitoring, safety and quality measurement.
Proficient deal communication skills and ability to collaborate in a multi-disciplinary team consisting of Software Engineers, Program Managers, and Data Scientists.
Working knowledge of tools like Azure DevOps or similar CI/CD platforms for integrating and managing test gates.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Passion for learning new technologies and skills.

Responsibilities

Design, develop and maintain engineering infrastructure, tools, and services that power the CI/CD for Microsoft Learning (Skilling) platform and services.
Develop software features for Skilling platforms, including requirement gathering, architecture, application and database design, development, testing, and deployment, while enforcing highly effective engineering practices to ensure high-quality, scalable, and secure solutions. Leverage AI and develop Copilot features within the application to enhance user experience and productivity.
Support and maintain existing services & integrations with LOB applications across the enterprise (Site Reliability).
Establish and enforce highly effective practices in coding, testing, and documentation to ensure high standards for code quality, performance, and service reliability.
Improve the reliability and debuggability of test frameworks by integrating automation and gates.
Develop and utilize AI/LLM models to analyze test failures, identifying root causes such as test flakiness or infrastructure issues.
Transition manual testing efforts currently handled by vendor DRIs into automated processes.
Lead junior Software Engineers, and collaborate with Product Managers, Designers and cross-functional teams to deliver high quality security solutions across platforms that ship to hundreds of millions of learners around the world.
Lead by example within the team by producing extensible and maintainable code. Optimize, debug, refactor, and reuse code to improve performance and maintainability, effectiveness, and return on investment (ROI). Apply metrics to drive the quality and stability of code, as well as appropriate coding patterns and highly effective practices.
Work across organizations and directly with partners both in WWL and across Microsoft including other engineers and product leaders.
Drive identification of dependencies and the development of design documents for our security features. Identify other teams and technologies that will be leveraged, how they will interact, and when one's own system may provide support to others. Determine any dependencies associated with application or platform functionality for the solution/product area. Understand up and downstream effects of solutions and work provided to ensure appropriate security and performance, drive reliability in the solutions, and optimize dependency chains and retrieves across teams.
Drive identification of areas of dependency and overlap with other teams or team members and drive coordination. Communicate across teams and resolve conflicts between teams.
Mentor engineers; enhance architecture quality, engineering discipline, and Responsible AI rigor.
Contribute to internal technical communities through documentation, skill-building sessions, and reusable engineering guidance—amplifying impact through others.
Embody our culture and values.