Job description

Overview Interested in being part of a team that powers a multi-billion-dollar business and helps shape the future of online advertising? Excited about solving complex engineering challenges at scale, influencing technical direction across teams, and leveraging AI to transform how software is built and delivered? If so, we'd love to hear from you. Online Advertising is one of the fastest-growing businesses on the Internet, and Microsoft Advertising is a leading global platform serving advertisers at massive scale. Microsoft Advertising Campaign UI is the team responsible for the web experiences that enable advertisers to create, manage, analyze, and optimize millions of advertising campaigns across Microsoft's advertising ecosystem. We are embarking on a multi-year transformation to modernize our advertising platform through next-generation user experiences, AI-powered workflows, and engineering productivity innovations. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will play a key role in shaping the future of advertiser experiences by driving technical innovation across our platform and partnering with engineering, product, and design teams to deliver impactful solutions. You will lead the architecture and implementation of high-impact initiatives across Microsoft Advertising's campaign management experiences. Working across multiple engineering teams, you will drive technical solutions that improve platform scalability, web performance, development efficiency, and user experience. You will influence architectural direction through technical expertise, collaborate with senior engineers and stakeholders across the organization, and help advance AI-enabled engineering practices that accelerate innovation and customer value. This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys solving challenging technical problems, driving cross-team impact through influence and technical leadership, and building durable, scalable platforms used by customers around the world. You will have the opportunity to work at the intersection of large-scale web applications, AI-powered development, and platform modernization while helping define the next generation of Microsoft Advertising experiences. 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.   Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction. Responsibilities • Lead the architecture, design, and implementation of high-impact engineering initiatives across Microsoft Advertising's advertiser-facing experiences. • Drive technical solutions that improve platform scalability, performance, reliability, maintainability, and engineering efficiency. • Partner with engineering, product, and design teams to deliver innovative customer experiences and solve complex technical challenges. • Influence architectural direction across multiple teams through technical expertise, collaboration, and solid engineering judgment. • Design and evolve shared platform capabilities, frameworks, and development patterns that enable teams to build and deliver products more effectively. • Advance AI-enabled engineering practices that improve developer productivity, accelerate innovation, and enhance software quality. • Lead technical investigations, architecture reviews, and design discussions for business-critical initiatives and platform investments. • Drive improvements in frontend architecture, performance, accessibility, observability, and engineering excellence across the platform. • Mentor and collaborate with engineers across teams, sharing knowledge and raising the overall technical bar of the organization. • Contribute to long-term technical strategy and identify opportunities to modernize systems, reduce complexity, and improve customer outcomes. Qualifications Required Qualifications: • Bachelor'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 equivalent experience. Preferred Qualifications: • Master'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 Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 15+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python • OR equivalent experience. • Experience designing, building, and operating large-scale customer-facing software systems. • Experience leading architecture and technical execution across multiple teams or product areas. • Experience with modern web application development and frontend architecture, including React, TypeScript, and JavaScript. • Experience driving technical alignment and influencing engineering decisions across cross-functional teams. • Experience delivering software throughout the full development lifecycle, from design and implementation to deployment and operations. • Experience building platform capabilities, shared frameworks, design systems, or developer productivity solutions. • Experience applying AI-assisted engineering practices and modern development tools to improve engineering efficiency and software quality. • Experience in online advertising, e-commerce, SaaS, or other large-scale customer-facing platforms. #MicrosoftAI Software Engineering IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $165,600 - $296,400 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 $220,800 - $331,200 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: careers.microsoft.com 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.

Requirements

Must-haves

Lead the architecture, design, and implementation of high-impact engineering initiatives across Microsoft Advertising's advertiser-facing experiences.
Drive technical solutions that improve platform scalability, performance, reliability, maintainability, and engineering efficiency.
Partner with engineering, product, and design teams to deliver innovative customer experiences and solve complex technical challenges.
Influence architectural direction across multiple teams through technical expertise, collaboration, and solid engineering judgment.
Design and evolve shared platform capabilities, frameworks, and development patterns that enable teams to build and deliver products more effectively.
Advance AI-enabled engineering practices that improve developer productivity, accelerate innovation, and enhance software quality.
Lead technical investigations, architecture reviews, and design discussions for business-critical initiatives and platform investments.
Drive improvements in frontend architecture, performance, accessibility, observability, and engineering excellence across the platform.
Mentor and collaborate with engineers across teams, sharing knowledge and raising the overall technical bar of the organization.
Contribute to long-term technical strategy and identify opportunities to modernize systems, reduce complexity, and improve customer outcomes.
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Nice-to-haves

OR equivalent experience.
Experience designing, building, and operating large-scale customer-facing software systems.
Experience leading architecture and technical execution across multiple teams or product areas.
Experience with modern web application development and frontend architecture, including React, TypeScript, and JavaScript.
Experience driving technical alignment and influencing engineering decisions across cross-functional teams.
Experience delivering software throughout the full development lifecycle, from design and implementation to deployment and operations.
Experience building platform capabilities, shared frameworks, design systems, or developer productivity solutions.
Experience applying AI-assisted engineering practices and modern development tools to improve engineering efficiency and software quality.
Experience in online advertising, e-commerce, SaaS, or other large-scale customer-facing platforms.
#MicrosoftAI
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

Application prep

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