Principal Software Engineer

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 Azure Data, the databases team builds and maintains Microsoft's operational Database systems. We store and manage data in a structured way to enable multitude of applications across various industries. We are on a journey to enable developer friendly, mission-critical, AI enabled operational Databases across relational, non-relational and OSS offerings.

The Azure CosmosDB for MongoDB team is hiring a Principal Software Engineer to lead the control plane engineering for one of the fastest-growing services in the Azure Databases portfolio. This team is responsible for the foundation that powers the managed service experience - including provisioning, configuration, lifecycle management, scaling, automation, and service health. This team builds the systems that enable millions of database accounts to be created, updated, and operated securely and reliably across the global Azure footprint. The role is unique in that it sits at the intersection of distributed systems engineering, cloud platform orchestration, and customer-facing service delivery. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will set the technical direction for the control plane, lead engineers through complex architectural initiatives, and drive innovations that increase scalability, reliability, and velocity of feature delivery for our NoSQL database service.

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.

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. We foster a culture of inclusion, growth, and innovation, built on values of respect, integrity, and accountability. If you're passionate about driving meaningful impact, solving complex problems, and contributing to a growing organization, we would love to hear from you.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the technical direction, design, and delivery of control-plane systems that enable DocumentDB managed service to scale reliably across the global Azure platform.
• Drive architecture and engineering decisions that improve service automation, resiliency, and operational efficiency for provisioning, configuration, and lifecycle management.
• Partner closely with product, infrastructure, and reliability engineering teams to evolve the managed-service experience and deliver features that enhance customer value.
• Guide and mentor engineers through complex distributed systems challenges, fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Anticipate future platform needs and contribute to long-term engineering strategy that supports Azure's growth in the cloud database space.
• Collaborate across Azure Databases (CosmosDB, SQL, PostgreSQL, and others) to share patterns, align platform capabilities, and strengthen our ecosystem of managed data services.
• Embody our 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, Ruby or Python
  • OR equivalent experience.
• 3+ years experience designing or operating control-plane or platform services in a large-scale, cloud-managed environment (e.g., Azure, AWS, Google Cloud Platform).

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:

• Experience building or maintaining distributed database or NoSQL systems, with a focus on scalability, availability, and operational automation.
• 4+ years experience leading engineering teams or technical initiatives across complex systems or distributed architectures.

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: ;br>
Microsoft will accept applications for the role until November 10th, 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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