Principal Software Engineer

You will join the Microsoft Azure Storage Engineering team. The team builds and scales the systems that power Azure’s storage services globally. You will collaborate with engineers who develop the distributed systems that provide secure, reliable, and efficient storage at massive scale. The team works across hardware and software boundaries to deliver optimal performance and reliability for Microsoft’s cloud customers. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will design and develop systems and tools that model performance, capacity, and financial dimensions for the Azure Storage platform. You will use modeling to understand system behavior, inform capacity decisions, and influence architectural design and where the team makes future investments. This opportunity will allow you to advance your technical depth in large-scale systems, develop cross-domain understanding across hardware and software integration, and strengthen your skills in distributed systems engineering. 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.

• Lead the design and development of internal systems and tools for modeling performance, capacity, and financial outcomes for Azure Storage.
• Partner with teams to analyze system performance, identify improvements, and deliver reliable and scalable solutions.
• Develop simulation models to evaluate system behavior under varied operating conditions and guide infrastructure planning.
• Diagnose and interpret telemetry for storage and networking systems to enhance reliability and anticipate performance issues.
• Evaluate hardware acceleration options and design tools that generate recommendations based on workload and service objectives.
• Act as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI), leading engineering reviews, mentoring other engineers, and supporting system reliability and recovery efforts.
• Stay current on distributed systems, acceleration, and security technologies to improve product efficiency and performance.
• Other · Embody our culture and values

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.
• 4+ years designing or implementing distributed systems, or operating large scale cloud services.
• 2+ years with performance analysis, capacity modeling, or simulation of system behavior, or comparable experience using data to guide engineering decisions.

Other Qualifications: 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:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science OR related technical field AND 10+ 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 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.
• 5+ years building backend services with REST or gRPC APIs, or equivalent client and server development experience.
• 5+ years working with Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud, or operating services on self-managed Linux or Windows environments.
• 4+ years building data pipelines or using SQL or time series stores for telemetry, or experience with observability stacks such as Azure Monitor, Prometheus, or Grafana.
• 4+ or more years applying machine learning models for performance, capacity, or cost forecasting, or experience building and validating predictive simulations.

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

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.