Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft's AI recommendation platform team is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join their innovative team working on personalized content feeds serving billions of users. The role focuses on building and maintaining a unified system that powers feeds across MSN, Edge browser, Windows, and various scenarios including news, shopping, weather, and finance.

The position requires expertise in designing and delivering reliable & scalable distributed services, with a focus on unification, simplification, and optimization of the current serving stack. The team operates across multiple geographically distributed data centers, balancing crucial factors like latency, efficiency, stability, agility, and debuggability.

As a Principal Engineer, you'll work on end-to-end system development, including data collection, model training infrastructure, collaborative filtering, document indexing, and real-time user signal handling. The role offers competitive compensation ranging from $137,600 to $267,000 per year (higher in SF and NYC areas), along with comprehensive benefits including healthcare, educational resources, and investment options.

The ideal candidate should have 6+ years of experience in software engineering, strong C++ skills, and background in machine learning and distributed systems. This is an excellent opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI technology that impacts billions of users while being part of Microsoft's mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more.

Working in a hybrid environment (up to 50% work from home), you'll collaborate with cross-functional teams of engineers and data scientists, taking end-to-end responsibility for service development, quality, and production readiness. The role combines technical leadership with hands-on development, requiring both strategic thinking and practical implementation skills.