Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft's Discovery and Quantum (MDQ) division develops and delivers advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud capabilities, and strategic technologies to help solve the world’s major challenges. From accelerated scientific discovery through advanced AI, to breakthroughs in quantum computing, to unique AI and edge platforms for bio-intelligence and biosecurity, and to advanced robotics and AI capabilities to accelerate positive impact in the physical world, joining MDQ means building the future, partnering with high-paced innovators, and working in an exhilarating, impact-focused environment.

Within MDQ’s Office of the CTO, our mission spans advancing how intelligent systems perceive, reason, and act in the physical and digital worlds. We are transforming robots from tools into teammates, empowered by next-generation AI models and grounded in trustworthy autonomy principles. Our goal is to create seamless collaboration among humans, robots, and AI agents to accelerate relevance to real-world applications such as scientific discovery and commercial scenarios. Through this convergence of AI and robotics, we are positioning Microsoft at the forefront of a new era where agentic AI and embodied systems work alongside humans to achieve breakthroughs in productivity, physical tasks, and scientific exploration.

As a Principal Software Engineer – Advanced Autonomy and Applied Robotics, you will help define and build the next-generation platform that powers human–robot–AI collaboration and AI-driven discovery and development. In this role, you will architect, rapidly prototype, and build software and infrastructure that power intelligent and adaptive AI systems at the forefront of AI technologies, spanning cloud-to-edge orchestration, perception and planning pipelines, mission-planning and execution frameworks, and multi-agent and tool development and evaluation. You will apply cutting-edge agent frameworks, robotics tools and middleware, and multi-agent coordination algorithms to develop robust, extensible platforms that advance cross-domain applications in research, industry, and beyond.

Beyond technical execution, the position demands leadership in engineering excellence—mentoring peers, driving best practices, and influencing cross-team collaboration. An effective contributor thrives in dynamic environments, balancing innovation with operational rigor through effective deployment automation, experimentation, and incident response. A growth mindset and commitment to continuous learning are vital, including staying current on emerging technologies such as AI-driven development and test automation, ensuring solutions remain cutting-edge, resilient, and aligned with organizational goals.

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 Engineering Excellence: Drive development of extensible, maintainable, secure, and performant code across products; mentor engineers in coding standards, design patterns, and best practices.
• Architect Scalable Solutions: Own architecture and design for complex systems, evaluating trade-offs in performance, resiliency, cost, and compliance while ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Ensure Code Quality and Testability: Define and enforce rigorous testing strategies—including unit, integration, and security tests—leveraging automation and AI-based test tools to prevent regressions.
• Advance Reliability and Operations: Integrate telemetry, monitoring, and diagnostics to ensure reliability and fast issue resolution; lead incident management, post-mortems, and continuous improvement.
• Champion Security and Compliance: Apply “security as code” principles, enforce privacy, accessibility, and global compliance standards, and lead adoption of secure design and deployment practices.
• Drive Implementation and Deployment: Oversee end-to-end implementation, feature flighting, deployment automation, and rollback strategies for efficient, safe, and scalable product releases.
• Foster Continuous Learning and Collaboration: Stay current with emerging technologies, drive adoption of modern tools and AI approaches, and cultivate cross-team alignment through mentoring and shared technical direction.
• Embody Microsoft’s culture and values.

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.
• 6+ years of experience focused on advanced software development and architecture, building commercial-grade, high-availability services.
• 6+ years of experience driving software platform architecture projects from both technical and functional perspectives, guiding complex initiatives from planning through execution and service operations.
• 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.
• 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.
• 10+ years of experience focused on advanced software development and architecture, building commercial-grade, high-availability services.
• 10+ years of experience driving software platform architecture projects from both a technical and functional perspective. Guiding complex projects from planning through execution and service operations.
• Hands-on competence in LLM infrastructure and paradigms:
• Agent-to-agent communication protocols and orchestration.
• Model Context Protocol.
• Integration of third-party tools, APIs, and data sources into LLM pipelines.
• Secure execution of LLMs in cloud environments, multi-tenant isolation, throttle control.
• 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.
• Agent-to-agent communication protocols and orchestration.
• Model Context Protocol.
• Integration of third-party tools, APIs, and data sources into LLM pipelines.
• Secure execution of LLMs in cloud environments, multi-tenant isolation, throttle control.

Software Engineering IC5 - 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.

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 October 31, 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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