Principal Solution Engineer

Microsoft • Raleigh, NC

4d • $130,900 - $272,300

About The Position

Work with multinational enterprise customers to achieve their business goals using Azure as their platform of choice. Build customer access, become a trusted technical adviser, uncover opportunities, and turn customer ambitions into practical solutions that deliver business value.

Combine an enterprise-architecture mindset and broad cloud understanding with hands-on expertise in applications and artificial intelligence. Understand how complete solutions fit together and when to involve specialists. Own the technical direction of complex opportunities, align teams when priorities are unclear, and take responsibility for agreed technical outcomes. Engage from executive conversations through practical demonstrations, drawing on account teams, specialists, and partners.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. The company describes a growth-mindset culture focused on responsible innovation and shared progress for people, teams, and customers.

The role is Solution Engineering IC5. The typical U.S. base pay range is USD $130,900–$251,900 per year. A different range applies in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metropolitan area: USD $165,600–$272,300 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. The position will be open for at least five days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until filled. Microsoft is unable to sponsor a work visa for this role due to the nature of its duties.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field and at least 4 years of technical pre-sales or technical consulting experience; or bachelor's degree in one of these fields and at least 6 years of such experience; or at least 7 years of such experience; or equivalent experience.
• Must be able to meet the role's work-visa requirements; Microsoft is unable to sponsor a work visa for this role.

Nice To Haves

• At least 8 years of technical pre-sales, technical consulting, technology delivery, or related experience, or equivalent experience.
• At least 6 years of experience with cloud and hybrid or on-premises infrastructures, architecture designs, migrations, industry standards, and/or technology management.
• Certification in relevant technologies or disciplines, such as Office 365, Power BI, Azure Architect and Development exams, Cloud Platform Technologies, Information Security, or Architecture.

Responsibilities

• Proactively build customer access, discover unmet needs across Azure, and create technical opportunities that deliver business value.
• Independently lead complex engagements spanning multiple technologies, teams, and customer locations; align stakeholders, resolve competing priorities, and drive technical decisions through discovery, workshops, and demonstrations.
• Help customers modernize applications using Azure and cloud-native approaches while balancing existing investments with future business needs.
• Guide modern software delivery and developer productivity, including GitHub and GitHub Copilot.
• Shape intelligent applications and agent solutions using Microsoft Foundry, Copilot technologies, and enterprise data, including Microsoft Fabric where relevant.
• Build focused prototypes and demonstrations to test customer ideas, show value, and guide secure, responsible AI adoption.
• Take an end-to-end view across Azure infrastructure, networking, identity, security, data, applications, and AI, including hybrid environments.
• Adapt and extend architecture patterns for complex customer requirements; recommend trade-offs among business value, security, reliability, and cost; and develop practical roadmaps.
• Work with specialists, customer success, and partners to help customers progress from architecture to adoption.
• Build trusted relationships with developers, architects, Heads of Development, Vice Presidents, and other technical and business stakeholders; listen, challenge constructively, and build consensus.
• Understand customer priorities, programmes, and decision-makers, aligning technical engagement with broader business and transformation strategies.
• Connect technical choices to customer outcomes and differentiated Microsoft value, using business and commercial judgment to build a clear case for investment.
• Qualify technical opportunities around clear customer needs and business value, and agree meaningful next steps.
• Shape opportunity-growth strategy with account teams, using data and insights to guide investment decisions and overcome technical barriers.
• Lead collaboration across teams and coach technical colleagues and account teams.
• Create reusable architectures and approaches from customer engagements and help others apply them to improve outcomes beyond individual opportunities.
• Maintain hands-on learning, relevant skills, and certifications, and demonstrate inclusion, integrity, and customer focus.

Benefits

• Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation; specific benefits are not listed in the posting.

What This Job Offers

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