Overview
Microsoft 365 Copilot is a groundbreaking productivity tool that leverages large language models, user data, Microsoft Graph, and the web to drive unparalleled creativity and productivity. At the heart of this innovation is the M365 Substrate Core Team, which designs and manages the central infrastructure that powers Microsoft 365 Copilot experiences such as Microsoft 365 Chat, Word, PowerPoint, and an expanding ecosystem of partners across Microsoft. Our team is driving one of Microsoft’s most transformative technology efforts—bringing large language models to every customer through the Microsoft 365 suite—by combining deep technical execution with meaningful, product‑facing impact.
We are proud of our collaborative culture and our track record of delivering results at scale, and we are seeking an experienced Principal Software Engineering Manager to help deliver the next generation of capabilities for the platform. In this role, you will act as a coach, guide, collaborator, and engineer—developing people and team identity, defining and delivering business and technical goals, building strong cross‑team partnerships, and owning the reliability, scalability, resilience, and cost of critical services.
As a Principal Software Engineering Manager, you will lead a team working on a strategic initiative focused on driving efficiency and strengthening core fundamentals across the Microsoft 365 Copilot stack, with the goal of unlocking significant improvements for customers. Key engineering efforts include partnering closely with other teams to analyze service metrics, identify opportunities to improve Copilot efficiency and features, and execute on a clear technical vision while maintaining the availability and quality of live services.
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.
Responsibilities
Lead a team focused on improving efficiency and fundamentals for M365 Copilot backend services, with a focus on scalability, reliability, and efficiency.
Collaborate with engineering and research teams across M365, Azure and MAI to co-design and ship performance optimizations in M365 AI products.
Provide strategic direction and apply deep technical knowledge to drive measurable business impact.
Guide technical design, dependency management, and documentation across services and platforms.
Drive code optimization, refactoring, and reuse to improve system performance, maintainability, and ROI.
Act as Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) and lead on-call operations, ensuring system health and rapid incident response across product lines.
Own product scalability and performance, applying engineering best practices and holding accountability for quality and customer satisfaction
Develop deep expertise in distributed systems and cloud-scale architecture.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- 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, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.
**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.
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Preferred Qualifications:
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, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
- OR 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 equivalent experience.
4+ years people management experience.
2+ years of experience building distributed, near real-time, high-load systems.
2+ years of experience translating requirements into feature implementations
Familiarity with modern software design patterns (microservices, containers, caching, queuing).
Experience with one of CUDA kernels, CPU/GPU performance optimization, network latency, and managing large-scale capacity fleets.
Software Engineering M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.
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
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about **requesting accommodations.**