The Principal Applied AI Engineer will serve as a hands-on technical architect and senior developer for production agentic AI services within the Engineering Operations team at Microsoft. This role focuses on transforming Azure customer support through AI-first systems that enhance quality, security, and reliability. The engineer will define and implement architecture for next-generation AI agents, lead complex technical initiatives, and ensure production quality and reliability. The position emphasizes a growth mindset and collaboration to drive measurable customer and business impact.

• 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.
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience designing, building, and operating production software systems.
• Strong proficiency in C# and/or Python with demonstrated ability to design and implement production-quality services and distributed systems.
• Experience with applied AI systems, including LLM-based applications, prompt engineering, RAG architectures, agent frameworks, or machine learning services.
• Experience with cloud platforms, preferably Azure, and cloud-native engineering practices including microservices, APIs, containers, CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and observability.

• Architect and build production agentic AI systems including LLM orchestration and multi-agent workflows.
• Write, review, and maintain production-quality C# and Python code.
• Translate ambiguous customer support scenarios into clear technical requirements.
• Establish architecture patterns, API and data contracts, and code quality expectations for AI services.
• Design and implement evaluation frameworks using rubrics and simulation.
• Ensure AI services meet demanding standards for correctness, availability, and scalability.
• Embed responsible AI principles and privacy protections into system architecture.
• Evaluate models and architectural approaches using evidence from experiments.
• Partner with product managers and engineers to shape technical strategy.
• Instrument systems and use data to improve automation accuracy and customer satisfaction.
• Lead architecture reviews and resolve complex technical disagreements.
• Mentor engineers in system design, software engineering, and applied AI.

• 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.