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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Principal Software Engineering Manager - **Company:** Microsoft - **Location:** Redmond, WA, United States - **Experience:** Experienced - **Salary:** $139,900.0 - $274,800.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** C (Programming Language), Java (Programming Language), JavaScript (Programming Language), Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Online Services, C Sharp (Programming Language), C++ (Programming Language), Program Optimization, Nvidia CUDA, Software Design Patterns, Python (Programming Language), Live Connect (Windows), Performance Tuning, Software Engineering, Office365, Caching, Information Technology, Code Restructuring, Microservices - **Published:** June 3, 2026 - **Apply:** https://seeker-sp.worksourcewa.com/jobview/GetJob.aspx?JobID=293456940 ## About the Role + 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. + 4+ years people management experience. + 2+ years of experience building distributed, near real-time, high-load systems. + 2+ years of experience translating requirements into feature implementations + Familiarity with modern software design patterns (microservices, containers, caching, queuing). + Experience with one of CUDA kernels, CPU/GPU performance optimization, network latency, and managing large-scale capacity fleets. Software Engineering M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $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. ## Description We are proud of our collaborative culture and our track record of delivering results at scale, and we are seeking an experienced **Principal Software Engineering Manager** to help deliver the next generation of capabilities for the platform. In this role, you will **act as a coach, guide, collaborator, and engineer** -developing people and team identity, defining and delivering business and technical goals, building strong cross-team partnerships, and owning the reliability, scalability, resilience, and cost of critical services. As a Principal Software Engineering Manager, you will lead a team working on a strategic initiative focused on driving efficiency and strengthening core fundamentals across the Microsoft 365 Copilot stack, with the goal of unlocking significant improvements for customers. Key engineering efforts include partnering closely with other teams to analyze service metrics, identify opportunities to improve Copilot efficiency and features, and execute on a clear technical vision while maintaining the availability and quality of live services. 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. **Responsibilities** + Lead a team focused on improving efficiency and fundamentals for M365 Copilot backend services, with a focus on scalability, reliability, and efficiency. + Collaborate with engineering and research teams across M365, Azure and MAI to co-design and ship performance optimizations in M365 AI products. + Provide strategic direction and apply deep technical knowledge to drive measurable business impact. + Guide technical design, dependency management, and documentation across services and platforms. + Drive code optimization, refactoring, and reuse to improve system performance, maintainability, and ROI. + Act as Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) and lead on-call operations, ensuring system health and rapid incident response across product lines. + Own product scalability and performance, applying engineering best practices and holding accountability for quality and customer satisfaction ## Related Videos - [HTTP headers that make your website go faster](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1676-http-headers-that-make-your-website-go-faster) - [Coffee with Developers - Stephen Jones - NVIDIA](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1303-coffee-with-developers-stephen-jones-nvidia) - [Engineering/Manager Pendulum: Generating compound interest on your career](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100348-engineering-manager-pendulum-generating-compound-interest-on-your-career) - [The weekly developer show: Boosting Python with CUDA, CSS Updates & Navigating New Tech Stacks](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1293-the-weekly-developer-show-boosting-python-with-cuda-css-updates-navigating-new-tech-stacks) - [Event based cache invalidation in GraphQL](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/433-event-based-cache-invalidation-in-graphql) - [Your next 10x engineer isn't in your city. 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