The Principal Software Engineer will be part of the AKS Flex team, focusing on building the networking architecture for Azure Kubernetes Service. This role involves designing multi-site connectivity for flex nodes and contributing to the open-source project Unbounded. The engineer will tackle complex networking challenges to ensure seamless connectivity across various environments, including on-premises and cloud. This position offers the opportunity to shape the future of hyperscale managed Kubernetes and represent Microsoft in the open-source community.

• 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, Go, Rust, C, C++, C#, Java, or Python.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements.
• 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, Go, Rust, C, C++, C#, Java, or Python is preferred.
• Experience with Linux or similar Unix-like server environments is preferred.
• Experience leading the architecture, design, and delivery of large-scale networking or distributed systems is preferred.

• Own the networking architecture for flex nodes and Unbounded, and help define the multi-year technical roadmap for AKS Flex.
• Lead cross-organization design efforts spanning AKS, Azure networking, compute, and identity.
• Build multi-site networking that provides transparent connectivity across sites using encrypted overlays and tunneling.
• Design networking for nodes that operate far from their control plane, addressing high latency and intermittent connectivity.
• Drive the performance, scale, and reliability of the networking dataplane and control plane across a global fleet.
• Integrate high-performance fabrics for distributed AI training and inference across heterogeneous hardware.
• Participate in production operations and on-call rotations, applying operational learnings to engineering improvements.
• Partner across AKS and Azure teams to deliver secure, compliant, and resilient infrastructure.

• 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.