Principal Software Engineer - Identity & Governance

Overview

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.

We are looking to fill the role of Principal Software Engineer - Identity & Governance.

Our team drives identity security and access governance by eliminating standing privileges through least-privilege access (LPA) and delivering just-in-time access via an advanced Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution. This includes approval workflows, session controls, and telemetry for high-risk accounts and workloads. We're also pioneering AI-driven agents that automate compliance checks, streamline access reviews, and detect anomalies - helping enterprises strengthen security posture while maintaining agility at scale.

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 design and delivery of complex, scalable features that strengthen identity security and access governance, ensuring resilience and exceptional user experience.
• Drive technical strategy and architecture decisions across multiple services, influencing partner teams and aligning with compliance and security requirements.
• Champion modern engineering practices, including AI-driven approaches, automation, and cloud-native patterns, across the full development lifecycle.
• Mentor and guide engineers, fostering technical excellence and continuous improvement in security, reliability, and performance.
• Collaborate cross-org to solve challenging technical problems, streamline processes, and reduce operational costs while improving live-site health.

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.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field OR equivalent experience. 8+ years of technical engineering experience, including: - Strong coding and design skills in C++, .NET, Java, Python, TypeScript or equivalent experience - Expertise in distributed systems, cloud-native architectures, and identity/security solutions. Deep understanding of authentication and authorization protocols (OAuth, OpenID Connect, SAML). Proven experience building secure, scalable enterprise solutions on Azure or similar cloud platforms.
• Proven experience in architecting and delivering secure, scalable enterprise solutions. Deep knowledge of security best practices, identity protocols (OAuth, OpenID Connect, SAML), and experience implementing secure software solutions. Familiarity with cloud-native architectures, distributed systems, and modern DevOps practices.

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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:


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.