Principal Software Engineer - Hardware

Microsoft • ,

18h • $142,800 - $304,200

About The Position

The Principal Software Engineer provides technical leadership for the architecture and evolution of large-scale distributed data platforms that ingest, process, enrich, store, and publish network telemetry and operational data for Microsoft Azure. The role defines engineering strategy and architectural direction for systems where scale, availability, data quality, performance, and operational reliability are critical.

The engineer addresses ambiguous, cross-cutting technical challenges; establishes engineering patterns and platform abstractions; and influences investments across organizational boundaries in partnership with Azure Networking teams. The role shapes cloud-scale data platform architecture and technical strategy for complex distributed systems, while helping network data support automated and intelligent Azure operations. It also includes mentoring engineers and technical leaders, raising engineering standards, and guiding durable architectural decisions.

Microsoft describes its mission as empowering every person and organization to achieve more, and emphasizes a growth mindset, innovation, collaboration, respect, integrity, accountability, and inclusion.

Requirements

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

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field and 8+ years of technical engineering experience coding in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python; or a bachelor's degree in a related field and 12+ years of such experience; or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of experience with requirements analysis, feature design, or test plan writing.
• 2+ years of experience in one or more of Ethernet, VLANs, IP routing, TCP/IP, BGP, QoS, L2-L3 protocols, platform validation, or network management.
• 1+ year of experience with Linux-based network operating systems, including system-level debugging, performance analysis, and production troubleshooting.
• Switch architecture and ASIC knowledge.
• Familiarity with test automation tools and scripting languages.
• 1+ year of experience with agile methodology.
• Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and define architectural direction for highly scalable, reliable distributed data platforms that ingest, process, enrich, store, and publish network telemetry and operational data.
• Lead the design and evolution of cloud-scale streaming and batch data systems, addressing complex engineering challenges involving scalability, availability, performance, resiliency, data quality, and operational efficiency.
• Drive long-term technical strategy across multiple teams, identify opportunities for product-level impact, and establish reusable architectures, engineering patterns, and platform capabilities.
• Partner across Microsoft Azure Networking and the broader Azure organization to lead architectural and design reviews, align technical investments, manage cross-system dependencies, and deliver cohesive solutions.
• Own critical capabilities end to end, from architecture and design through implementation, production readiness, operation, and continuous improvement, ensuring security, reliability, maintainability, and engineering quality.
• Identify systemic technical risks and drive improvements in design, code quality, testing, observability, performance, reliability, and operational practices.
• Mentor and influence engineers and technical leaders, developing engineering capability and fostering sound technical decisions, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.

What This Job Offers

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