Principal Software Engineer - Architect

Microsoft Corp

Redmond, WA

JOB DETAILS
SALARY
$165,600–$296,400 Per Year
SKILLS
Analysis Skills, Architectural Services, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automation, Background Investigation, Best Practices, Big Data, Business Intelligence, C Programming Language, C++ Programming Language, Cloud Computing, Code Reviews, Computer Science, Continuous Deployment/Delivery, Continuous Improvement, Continuous Integration, Cross-Functional, Customer Acquisition, Customer Support/Service, Customer/Client Research, Data Analysis, Debugging Skills, Design Document, Design Patterns Programming Methodologies, Distributed Computing, Engineering, High Availability, High Reliability, Identify Issues, Incident Management, Incident Response, Intelligence Agencies, Java, JavaScript, Machine Tool, Maintain Compliance, Mentoring, Messaging Technology, Microsoft C# (C Sharp), Microsoft Product Family, Microsoft Windows Azure, Open Source, Operational Audit, PostgreSQL, Power BI, Process Improvement, Product Lifecycle, Product Planning, Productivity Management, Project/Program Management, Proof of Concept, Python Programming/Scripting Language, Root Cause Analysis, SQL Databases, Service Level Agreement (SLA), Software Administration, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Software Engineering, Software as a Service (SaaS), Technical Leadership, Technical/Engineering Design, Telemetry, Test Strategy, Testing
LOCATION
Redmond, WA
POSTED
3 days ago

Overview

Microsoft is a company where passionate innovators come to collaborate, envision what can be and take their careers further. This is a world of more possibilities, more innovation, more openness, and the sky is the limit thinking in a cloud-enabled world.

Microsoft's Azure Data engineering team is leading the transformation of analytics in the world of data with products like databases, data integration, big data analytics, messaging & real-time analytics, and business intelligence. The products our portfolio include Microsoft Fabric, Azure SQL DB, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure PostgreSQL, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Service Bus, Azure Event Grid, and Power BI. Our mission is to build the data platform for the age of AI, powering a new class of data-first applications and driving a data culture.

Within Microsoft Fabric, the Real-Time Intelligence team enables organizations to act on data as it happens. By combining real-time ingestion, streaming, event processing, and observability signals, the team delivers capabilities that help customers detect patterns, respond to events, and drive immediate action. These experiences are tightly integrated into Fabric to support modern applications and operational decision-making in real time.

The Azure Event Grid engineering team is seeking a talented and highly motivated Principal Software Engineer - Architect to lead the design and implementation of the next generation of PubSub solutions for customers worldwide.

We are looking for an architect with deep understanding in distributed systems, strong analytical skills, and a proven track record of delivering large-scale services end to end.

As a Principal Software Engineer - Architect, you will lead the technical design of complex and often ambiguous system components, define architectural patterns that ensure scalability, reliability, and high availability, and help shape the long-term technical direction of the service. You will mentor engineers, lead design and code reviews, collaborate across teams, and partner with customers to unblock adoption scenarios. In addition, you will drive operational excellence to maintain the highest standards of service availability. You will be building an elastic-scale Pub/Sub system with advanced features that modernize event-driven architectures and support SaaS and AI agent integrations.

In this role, you will work closely with PMs, EMs, and researchers to bring new innovations to life, develop early proof-of-concepts, and collaborate with technical leaders across Microsoft Fabric to transform ideas into meaningful product value.

You will also drive improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) tools and practices across the software development lifecycle (SDLC). This includes taking responsibility for the quality and accuracy of AI-generated requirements, design documents, code, and other assets, while helping the broader team adopt and apply these practices effectively.

We do not just value differences or different perspectives. We seek them out and invite them in so we can tap into the collective power of everyone in the company. As a result, our customers are better served.

Responsibilities

  • Architects extensible and maintainable solutions that emphasize diagnosability, reliability, and resilience at scale.
  • Drives requirements and design by partnering with stakeholders, including program managers, technical leads, and architects, to define and refine messaging system requirements. Leverages telemetry, customer feedback, and usage patterns to inform architectural decisions and shape the product roadmap. Establishes continuous feedback loops to measure customer value, reliability, and operational health, ensuring future design iterations are data-driven.
  • Champions coding best practices, design patterns, and reusable frameworks across the team. Ensures production-ready code with minimal defects and mentors engineers through hands-on guidance and comprehensive code reviews.
  • Defines testing strategies for messaging system components, establishing quality gates and success criteria across unit, integration, and end-to-end testing. Drives improvements in test coverage, removes obsolete tests, and identifies gaps in the testing framework. Leads the integration of automation into CI/CD pipelines to continuously validate reliability and performance under realistic workloads.
  • Improves engineering productivity by identifying tooling gaps across the cloud messaging development lifecycle. Designs and builds internal tools, frameworks, and libraries that streamline development, debugging, and operational workflows. Evaluates and advocates for open-source solutions where appropriate. Mentors engineers on modern tooling practices and fosters a culture of continuous improvement in developer experience.
  • Leads incident response and operational excellence as an Incident Manager. Monitors messaging systems for degradation, downtime, and service interruptions, driving rapid root-cause analysis and resolution of complex distributed systems issues. Coordinates cross-functional response efforts, communicates status to stakeholders, ensures SLA compliance, authors post-incident reviews, and drives systemic improvements to prevent recurrence.

Embody our culture and values

Qualifications

NOTE to Admins: This whole section including "Required/Minimum Qualifications" + "Other Requirements" + "Preferred/Additional Qualifications" must all be placed into Employee Central into the single field that says 'Qualifications'

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelors 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.

Job Requirements: Other & Additional

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/Additional Qualifications

  • Masters 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 Bachelors 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.
  • Hands on experince of developing AI Agentic solutions.
  • Deep understanding in distributed systems, strong analytical skills, and a proven track record of delivering large-scale services end to end preferably Pub/Sub and messaging services.

#azdat

#azuredata

#messaging #azureeventgrid #eventgrid #microsoftfabric #pubsub #azure

Software Engineering IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $165,600 - $296,400 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 $220,800 - $331,200 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.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

About the Company

M

Microsoft Corp

DO WHAT YOU LOVE
Make your mark on the world’s most used technologies. Develop the next hit mobile application. Pioneer a startup that could be the next big thing. At Microsoft, you choose your path.

Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft is a top innovator in both the consumer and enterprise technology industry. Just a few of the many things our products do are unleash creativity, connect businesses, and make learning more fun. But our continued success is based on one thing: our employees. We hire amazing, talented people and give them the opportunities—and the tools—to succeed.

WHY MICROSOFT?
As a Microsoft employee, you’re surrounded by a diverse group of the smartest people in your field. This fosters new ideas, better business results, and creates a dynamic work environment. In the office, you’re constantly challenged and supported by your colleagues. Every day holds something new and exciting.

We also offer unparalleled depth and breadth of career opportunities. As an industry leader in multiple fields, working for Microsoft means being able to do whatever you feel passionate about—and being able to make an impact in that field. From day one, we give our employees significant responsibility. This means that you’ll know that you directly contributed to something that has a positive impact on people worldwide. Whether you choose to work in management, dive deep into the newest technology, or explore multiple professions, you’ll find everything you need at Microsoft to drive your career—and to make a difference.

WE GET IT – YOU’RE MORE THAN YOUR JOB
Everyone works differently and is motivated by different things. We also understand that there’s more to you than your job. That’s why we offer competitive pay and a wide assortment of benefits-- to help you make the most of life at work and away from it.

GET THE BALL ROLLING
COMPANY SIZE
10,000 employees or more
INDUSTRY
Computer Software
FOUNDED
1975
WEBSITE
http://www.microsoft.com