Principal Group Software Engineering Manager

Security represents the most critical priorities for our customers in a world awash in digital threats, regulatory scrutiny, and estate complexity. Microsoft Security aspires to make the world a safer place for all. We want to reshape security and empower every user, customer, and developer with a security cloud that protects them with end to end, simplified solutions. The Microsoft Security organization accelerates Microsoft’s mission and bold ambitions to ensure that our company and industry is securing digital technology platforms, devices, and clouds in our customers’ heterogeneous environments, as well as ensuring the security of our own internal estate. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world.

Are you an engineering leader with deep systems level engineering experience? Are you passionate about cyber security and protecting consumers and enterprises alike from cyber-attacks? Become an integral member of the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) Team. Our mission is to safeguard every user with innovative proactive protection, detection, and response technologies, aiming to stay ahead of malicious actors and anticipating the threats of the future.  

We’re looking for a Principal Group Software Engineering Manager to lead a team of engineers to design and build the next generation of endpoint protection. This team provides the potential for tremendous personal and career growth across many dimensions. You’ll have the opportunity to work across divisional boundaries and develop a broad understanding of Microsoft’s business while making a meaningful impact on society.

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.

This Hybrid Position is located at our Microsoft office in Redmond, Washington. Relocation support will be provided, and successful candidates will need to relocate or reside within 50 miles of the field location. 

Responsibilities

• Set technical vision and roadmap for security services deeply integrated with the Defender cloud, aligning investments to business outcomes and customer impact.
• Lead and grow a high‑performing engineering team by driving design reviews, code reviews, and high‑quality implementation using secure-by-design and engineering excellence practices.
• Partner across Microsoft (Defender, M365, Azure, Identity, Data, and platform teams) to architect, deliver, and land end‑to‑end, integrated solutions at cloud scale.
• Define and operationalize OKRs/KPIs; instrument services, review telemetry, and run regular business/engineering reviews to course‑correct quickly.
• Champion a healthy, inclusive culture that models Microsoft values; foster psychological safety, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Attract, hire, and develop talent—build a diverse pipeline, mentor ICs and managers, and create clear growth paths and succession plans.
• Own delivery and operational excellence—ensure reliability, performance, cost efficiency, and compliance (security, privacy, accessibility) with robust on-call and incident practices.
• Drive customer and stakeholder engagement—gather requirements, validate designs, and translate feedback into prioritized backlog and measurable outcomes.
• Manage planning and execution—lead multi-quarter planning, resourcing, and cross-team dependencies to deliver on-time, high-quality releases.
• Continuously improve the Software Development Life Cycle—advance test automation, CI/CD, threat modeling, and governance to reduce risk and accelerate velocity.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, or related technical discipline 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.

• 8+ years of experience designing, developing, or maintaining secure software systems, with applied knowledge of authentication, data protection, access control, and secure coding practices.
• 8+ years of experience in leading engineering teams or managing technical projects, collaborating across multiple teams and stakeholders to deliver complex solutions, drive innovation, and achieve measurable results in large-scale or mission-critical environments.
• 8+ years of experience in designing, building, and operating scalable, highly available cloud services or distributed systems on platforms such as Azure, AWS, or GCP, including production ownership, CI/CD integration, and applying distributed systems concepts (e.g., concurrency, conflict resolution, consensus algorithms) for resilience and maintainability.
• 8+ years of experience in programming with modern back-end languages such as C#, Java, Go, or Python, with emphasis on building reliable, durable, and operationally efficient systems, including live site operations, incident response, and performance optimization.

• 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.

Additional Or Preferred Qualifications:

• 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 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 equivalent experience.
• 15+ years of experience designing, developing, or maintaining secure software systems, with applied knowledge of authentication, data protection, access control, and secure coding practices.
• 15+ years of experience in leading engineering teams or managing technical projects, collaborating across multiple teams and stakeholders to deliver complex solutions, drive innovation, and achieve measurable results in large-scale or mission-critical environments.
• 15+ years of experience in designing, building, and operating scalable, highly available cloud services or distributed systems on platforms such as Azure, AWS, or GCP, including production ownership, CI/CD integration, and applying distributed systems concepts (e.g., concurrency, conflict resolution, consensus algorithms) for resilience and maintainability.
• 15+ years of experience in programming with modern back-end languages such as C#, Java, Go, or Python, with emphasis on building reliable, durable, and operationally efficient systems, including live site operations, incident response, and performance optimization.
• OR 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 equivalent experience.

Software Engineering M6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $163,000 - $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

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until November 5th, 2025.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

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