Microsoft

Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft$142K — $274K *
Information Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field plus 6+ years of engineering experience, or equivalent experience.
  • Proficiency in coding with languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python.
  • Ability to pass Microsoft's specialized security screenings.
  • Master's degree in Computer Science or related field preferred, along with 8+ years of relevant experience, or equivalent experience.
  • Solid understanding of software engineering principles and best practices.

Responsibilities

  • Lead architecture discussions for complex product designs.
  • Drive experiments and integrate success metrics into product development.
  • Collaborate with teams for integration, testing, scalability, and incident management.
  • Mentor engineers on secure testing strategies to ensure high-quality solutions.
  • Identify inter-team dependencies and coordinate collaboration for system integration.
  • Establish security best practices, focusing on secure coding and AI safety.
  • Automate deployment processes aiming for zero-touch deployment.
  • Continuously learn and share insights on new technologies and engineering principles.

Benefits

  • Access to comprehensive health care plans.
  • Retirement savings plans with company matching.
  • Employee discounts on products and services.
  • Generous paid time off and holiday policies.
  • Ongoing learning and development opportunities.
Full Job Description
Overview

The Data Management Platform (DMP) in Bing Ads, part of Microsoft AI (MAI) is hiring for a Principal Software Engineer in Redmond, WA or Mountain view, CA. The Data Management Platform (DMP) team is at the heart of user understanding for Microsoft Advertising. We build and operate large-scale data pipelines, build services that operate under low latency and high throughput, provide APIs that enable identity resolution, user segmentation, targeting, and personalization. We are in the midst of transforming from on-prem to Azure across several data centers, and modernizing DMP stack.

Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

Responsibilities
  • Leads architecture discussions and decisions for complex product designs, including testing and evaluating multiple design options.
  • Drives experiments using feature flags/flighting, interpreting results, and collaborating to incorporate success metrics.
  • Collaborates with partner teams for integration, testing, scalability, performance, and incident management before going live.
  • Mentors engineers on creating and executing thorough, secure test strategies to ensure solution quality.
  • Identifies dependencies across teams and coordinates collaboration to align schedules and integrate systems.
  • Establishes and enforces security best practices, including secure coding, threat modeling, and AI safety features.
  • Drives automation in production and deployment processes, targeting zero-touch deployment where possible.
  • Applies and shares best practices for scalable, secure, and performant product development.
  • Ensures compliance with security, privacy, and regulatory standards, maintaining audit trails and understanding regulations.
  • Continuously learns and shares knowledge about new technologies, trends, and engineering principles.
  • Develops and improves software engineering tools and advocates for reuse of internal or open-source solutions.
  • Collaborates with partner teams to ensure seamless integration, testing, live-site readiness, and escalation paths before launch.
  • Conducts timely code reviews that ensure quality, test coverage, security, and adherence to best practices, providing coaching.


Qualifications

Required Qualifications:
  • 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.

Other Requirements:
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 thereafter.


Preferred Qualifications:
  • 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.


#MicrosoftAI

Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

About Microsoft

Microsoft is an American multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services. Microsoft’s devices and consumer (D&C) licensing segment licenses the Windows operating system and related software, Microsoft Office for consumers, and the Windows Phone operating system. The company’s computing and gaming hardware segment provides Xbox gaming and entertainment consoles and accessories, second-party and third-party video games, and Xbox Live subscriptions; surface devices and accessories; and Microsoft PC accessories. Its phone hardware segment offers Lumia smartphones and other non-Lumia phones. Its D&C segment provides Windows Store, Xbox Live transactions, and Windows phone store; search advertising; display advertising; Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal; first-party video games; and other consumer products and services as well as operating retail stores. Microsoft’s commercial licensing segments license server products, including Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Windows Embedded; Windows operating system; Microsoft Office for business, including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, and related CALs; Microsoft Dynamics business solutions; and Skype. Its commercial segment offers enterprise services, including premier support services and Microsoft consulting services; commercial cloud comprising Office 365 Commercial, other Microsoft Office online offerings, Dynamics CRM Online, and Microsoft Azure; and other commercial products and online services. The company markets and distributes its products through original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and resellers, as well as online.

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Learn more about Microsoft
Size
181,000 employees
Market Cap
$1,762.4 billion
Industry
Net Income
$51.3 billion
Founded
1975
5 Year Trend
+15.5%
Revenue
$153.2 billion
NASDAQ

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