The Principal Cloud Network Engineer at Microsoft will provide expert technical leadership in large-scale networking and AI infrastructure. This role focuses on defining strategies and architectures for network operating systems and ensuring their continuous improvement across a global environment. The successful candidate will tackle complex problems, establish engineering standards, and enhance the team's AI engineering capabilities. This position is integral to accelerating network operational readiness and reliability.

• Doctorate Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 3+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation.
• Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 4+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation.
• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 6+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements.

• Define and lead end-to-end network validation strategies across various environments.
• Architect extensible, vendor-agnostic testing frameworks for network validation.
• Establish risk-based quality standards and release-readiness criteria.
• Provide technical leadership for complex network failures and live-site incidents.
• Define and improve network operational readiness and reliability.
• Architect and build network automation and CI/CD systems.
• Provide technical leadership across teams and mentor engineers.
• Define and execute an AI strategy for network engineering.

• 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.