Principal Software Engineering Manager
Microsoft
Principal Software Engineering Manager
Redmond, Washington, United States
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Overview
Security represents the most critical priorities for our customers in a world awash in digital threats, regulatory scrutiny, and estate complexity. Microsoft Security aspires to make the world a safer place for all. We want to reshape security and empower every user, customer, and developer with a security cloud that protects them with end to end, simplified solutions.
The Microsoft Security organization accelerates Microsoft’s mission and bold ambitions to ensure that our company and industry is securing digital technology platforms, devices, and clouds in our customers’ heterogeneous environments, as well as ensuring the security of our own internal estate. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their authentic selves each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world.
Security Copilot empowers defenders to detect hidden patterns, harden defenses, and respond to incidents faster with generative AI. While Generative AI has created a new set of possibilities, it’s also created a new set of challenges: hallucination, prompt injection, Security of AI systems etc. Our team is at the forefront of both the opportunities and the challenges for Microsoft Security. We are looking for a Principal Software Engineering Manager to join the Security Copilot Team and serve as a critical link between cutting-edge AI security research and real-world product delivery. This role is ideal for a leader who thrives at the intersection of research, product thinking, and engineering execution, turning novel ideas into impactful features that enhance security outcomes for our customers. As a Principal Software Engineering Manager, you will partner closely with applied researchers, product managers, and engineering teams to translate research prototypes into production-ready systems. You will bring structure and clarity to ambiguous problem spaces, drive cross-functional alignment, and coach engineers to deliver secure, scalable, and innovative AI-based security solutions.
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.
This Hybrid Position is located at our Microsoft office in Redmond, Washington. Relocation support will be provided, and successful candidates will need to relocate or reside within 50 miles of the field location.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, or related technical discipline AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
- OR equivalent experience.
- 2+ years of experience as a people manager, with a track record of leading engineering teams.
Proficiency in C++, C#, Python, or Java, with extensive experience in systems and application-level software development
Demonstrated ability to turn ambiguous technical concepts into well-scoped, impactful engineering solutions
Familiarity with machine learning or AI systems, including integration into products
Other Requirements:
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:
- Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
Additional or Preferred Qualifications:
- 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 Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 10+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
- OR equivalent experience.
- 2+ years of experience collaborating with AI/ML or research teams in a product development setting
- Experience with AI agents, generative AI, or large-scale distributed systems
- Proven ability to manage cross-functional partnerships with product, research, and design teams
- Familiarity with security platforms, threat detection, or cloud-scale infrastructure
- Demonstrated ability to balance short-term execution with long-term technical vision
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
Microsoft will accept applications for the role until July 8th, 2025.
#MSFTSecurity #SecurityCoPilot #GenerativeAI #AIinSecurity
Responsibilities
- Act as a translation layer between research and engineering teams—identifying technical feasibility, aligning roadmaps, and managing hand-offs.
- Lead a high-performing engineering team with a culture of learning, inclusivity, and delivery.
- Drive the maturation of research prototypes into robust, production-grade features and services.
- Collaborate with product, research, and UX teams to shape and validate scenarios from conception to launch.
- Maintain engineering excellence through rigorous testing, observability, and site reliability.
- Mentor engineers through technical deep dives while ensuring clarity on priorities and impact.
- Communicate risks, tradeoffs, and customer impact clearly to partners and stakeholders.
- Champion a growth mindset and a customer-first, secure-by-design approach.
- Embody our Culture and Values