Principal Software Engineer, MSN & Windows

The MSN organization powers personalized content and engagement experiences that reach hundreds of millions of users across Windows and Microsoft surfaces. We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to lead the evolution of Windows 11 Widgets and the next generation of intelligent content experiences delivered in partnership with the Windows organization.

In this role, you will define technical strategy and architecture across client, service, and platform investments that power personalized, performant, and reliable experiences at global scale. You will work across MSN, Windows, AI, platform, and partner teams to deliver experiences that help users stay informed, productive, and connected to the information that matters most.

As a Principal Engineer, you will be expected to drive broad technical direction, influence engineering investments across organizations, and lead the delivery of complex initiatives that improve customer engagement, quality, reliability, and operational excellence.

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.

Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

• Lead the design and development of large-scale Windows and MSN experiences with a focus on reliability, performance, and user engagement.
• Drive technical strategy and architecture for Windows Widgets, dashboard experiences, content surfaces, and supporting platform components.
• Experience designing, building, shipping Windows applications, Windows shell experiences, or client-side experiences that integrate with Windows platform capabilities.
• Partner closely with Windows engineering teams to deliver integrated experiences across the Windows ecosystem.
• Influence engineering excellence through architecture reviews, design discussions, code reviews, and mentorship.
• Translate business objectives and customer needs into scalable technical solutions.
• Use data and experimentation to guide product investments and measure customer impact.
• Drive end-to-end execution across multiple teams, ensuring successful delivery of complex initiatives.
• Champion quality, operational excellence, accessibility, privacy, and security best practices.

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:

• 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 software engineering experience building and shipping large-scale products or services.
• Solid hands-on software development experience in one or more languages such as C++, C#, JavaScript/TypeScript, or related technologies.
• Proven track record of architecting and delivering complex systems at scale.
• Experience designing highly performant, reliable, and maintainable software systems.
• Demonstrated technical leadership across teams, including driving technical strategy, architecture reviews, and cross-organizational initiatives.
• Experience using telemetry, experimentation, and data to guide engineering and product decisions.
• Solid communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence technical direction across organizations.
• Experience operating production systems and driving reliability, quality, and operational excellence.
• Experience building consumer-facing experiences on Windows or other large-scale client platforms.
• Expertise in modern web technologies, performance engineering, and client-side architecture.
• Experience improving startup performance, responsiveness, reliability, or customer engagement metrics at scale.
• Familiarity with experimentation platforms, recommendation systems, personalization, or AI-powered experiences.
• History of leading cross-organizational technical initiatives and influencing decisions beyond immediate team boundaries.
• Passion for mentoring engineers and building a culture of technical excellence.

#MicrosoftAI

Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $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.