Principal Software Engineer

Microsoft

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About The Position

Are you passionate about architecting distributed systems, building high-performance networking data paths, and advancing cloud security and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven infrastructure? The Azure Domain Name System (DNS) team is at the forefront of cloud networking, designing and operating resilient, low-latency, and secure infrastructure that powers Azure’s dial tone services. Join us to solve complex challenges in distributed consensus, data plane reliability, and threat protection—leveraging AI and predictive analytics to deliver mission-critical cloud services.
As a Principal Software Engineer, you will lead the design and implementation of distributed systems and networking data paths for Azure’s global DNS platform. You’ll architect scalable, fault-tolerant data plane components, optimize for low-latency and high-throughput, and solve challenges in distributed consensus, partitioning, and replication. Your technical leadership will drive innovation in cloud-native networking, security, and AI-driven infrastructure, enabling self-healing and predictive operations. You’ll mentor engineers, champion best practices, and foster a collaborative culture.

Requirements

• 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.
• 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.

Nice To Haves

• Expertise in distributed consensus, partitioning, replication, and cloud-native networking.
• Proficiency in C, C++, Rust, Golang, or similar systems programming languages.
• Linux networking expertise: kernel networking stack, packet processing (DPDK/eBPF/XDP), NIC offloads, TCP/UDP performance tuning, and observability tools applied to high‑throughput, low‑latency data paths.
• Experience with DNS protocol, large-scale web applications, or cloud infrastructure is a plus.
• Experience applying AI/Machine Learning (ML) techniques for operational excellence, such as predictive analytics, automated incident detection, or self-healing infrastructure.
• 6+ years of experience designing and building distributed systems or networking data paths at scale.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement distributed systems and networking data paths for cloud-scale Networking services, focusing on reliability, performance, security, and operational excellence.
• Lead innovation in data plane engineering, including traffic routing, failover and self-healing mechanisms.
• Drive adoption of advanced distributed algorithms, networking protocols, and AI-driven solutions to optimize scalability and resilience.
• Mentor and guide engineers in best practices for distributed systems, networking, security, and cloud infrastructure, providing technical leadership through rigorous code and design reviews.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to deliver end-to-end solutions, from design through deployment and operations.
• Champion operational excellence by developing robust monitoring, observability, and automated recovery solutions, including AI-powered incident detection and predictive scaling.
• Embody our Culture and Values

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees