The Principal Software Engineer will join the Store Database Team at Microsoft, focusing on building and operating core data infrastructure for Microsoft 365. This role emphasizes creating highly available and scalable database solutions that support mission-critical workloads. The engineer will lead architectural design and technical strategy while collaborating with various teams to translate business needs into technical solutions. The position also involves mentoring engineers and driving improvements in system performance and reliability.

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in languages including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements.
• Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years of technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 12+ years of technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.
• Deep expertise in distributed storage systems, databases, cloud infrastructure, and service architecture.
• Experience designing and operating AI-native services and applying AI-assisted engineering practices.

• Lead architecture, design, and delivery of large-scale storage platform capabilities.
• Drive technical strategy and execution across complex initiatives.
• Partner with engineers, product managers, and security teams to define technical direction.
• Lead the design of AI-native systems and distributed storage architectures.
• Establish technical standards and guardrails for AI-enabled solutions.
• Use telemetry and data-driven analysis to identify bottlenecks and improve service health.
• Lead live-site excellence by driving root-cause analysis and operational automation.
• Mentor engineers and technical leaders across the organization.

• Employees at Microsoft are often offered comprehensive, “world-class” benefits—including health and mental-wellness programs, competitive pay with bonuses and stock awards, and retirement/savings options. Time-off and flexibility are common, with generous vacation and holidays, parental and caregiver leave, and flexible work schedules, alongside learning support, employee resource groups, product discounts, and matching-gifts/volunteering programs. Specific benefits can vary by region.