Principal Software Engineering Manager - GitHub Plan and Track (CoreAI)

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

About The Position

Join us in shaping the future of developer collaboration and productivity. Our team works on building the technology to empower builders to take their ideas from shape to ship, across clients, and with teams of humans and agents. We build market-leading services that allow developers to manage and track work seamlessly, delegate to Copilot, and build with their teams right from chat surfaces. In this role as a Principal Software Engineering Manager, you will champion strategic alignment across distributed teams, overseeing the design and architecture of products that are deeply complex and often ambiguous. As a leader and multiplier, you will not only drive employee growth and performance management but also establish best practices for system reliability, extensibility, and maintainable code. We are looking for creative problem solvers who are passionate about both technical excellence and inclusive culture. You will provide technical leadership for identifying dependencies and ensuring our solutions meet the highest standards of quality and scale. By leading by example—including the use of modern AI software development tools—you will help your team iterate quickly and transform how the world builds software. Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. GitHub is the developer company. We make it easier for developers to be developers: to work together, to solve challenging problems, and to create the world’s most important technologies. We foster a collaborative community that can come together—as individuals and in teams—to create the future of software and make a difference in the world. As part of GitHub and CoreAI, we build developer tools that materially improve how software is written, reviewed, and shipped, while maintaining a culture of ownership, rigor, and technical excellence. 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.

Requirements

Bachelor'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 equivalent experience.
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role.
These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years

Nice To Haves

Master'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 Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 15+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.
6+ years people management experience.
3+ years of experience leading distributed software engineering teams
5+ years of hands-on experience in modern web stacks (e.g. Rails, Go, React, MySQL, GraphQL)
You have a strong customer focus and data driven approach
You have excellent analytical skills as well as communication skills both verbal and written.
We’re a distributed team so we’re extra mindful about communication
You are a clear and effective communicator, be it when you write code, write emails, or explain complex technical issues to non-technical co-workers
You are passionate and self-motivated, with a demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment

Responsibilities

Drive technical strategy and roadmaps in partnership with Product and Design to solve complex customer problems in the agentic era.
Manage and develop a talented, distributed group of full-stack engineers, fostering a culture of ownership and continuous growth.
Champion strategic alignment across teams to ensure the delivery of high-impact, planetary-scale experiences that users love.
Oversee system architecture for deeply complex features, ensuring solutions are extensible, maintainable, and reliable.
Lead by example in the practical adoption of modern AI software development tools to accelerate the team's iteration and learning.
Maintain high quality standards through technical leadership, proactive code reviews, and the establishment of robust testing best practices.
Contribute to a modern full-stack codebase (Ruby on Rails, React, TypeScript) while identifying and managing technical dependencies.
Foster technical excellence and innovation by researching new approaches and guiding their implementation across the distributed team.
Act as a multiplier by providing mentorship and pairing opportunities that define success for both individual and team outcomes.