Ready to lead a foundational system that powers Azure? We’re hiring a Principal Software Engineering Manager to lead the team behind Azure’s configuration distribution platform—a foundational service critical to how configurations are delivered across our cloud. This is a high-impact role for someone who thrives on solving tough distributed systems challenges, growing engineering teams, and building reliable infrastructure that other services depend on every day.
Our mission is to standardize and scale configuration distribution across Azure, making it more reliable, secure, and efficient in a constantly evolving cloud environment. This isn’t just another backend service—it’s a platform that underpins how services across Azure operate, deploy, and stay resilient. Configuration distribution is one of the hardest problems in cloud-scale systems. Services today run on dynamic fleets of microservices, containers, and virtual machines, deployed across multiple regions and zones. These fleets are in constant flux—scaling up, down, and redeploying with minimal notice. Ensuring that every instance gets the right configuration at the right time is critical for system reliability, security, and operational speed.
You’ll be leading a team that’s solving these challenges head-on—designing scalable systems, working across org boundaries, and laying down the foundation for service teams to build with confidence. If you're ready to lead from the front, make technical and organizational impact, and shape the future of Azure’s infrastructure, we’d love to talk.
This Principal Software Engineering Manager position offers a unique opportunity to lead a high-impact team developing a foundational service within Azure’s cloud ecosystem. This role involves building and scaling distributed systems that are central to service reliability, configuration management, and platform consistency across Azure. You will work alongside experienced engineers and technical leaders, contributing to strategic decisions and driving execution across a broad technical surface area. The role supports both technical depth and leadership development, offering exposure to complex engineering challenges, cross-functional collaboration, and customer-centric design. As a people and technology leader, you will guide a team through data-informed development, leveraging both qualitative feedback and quantitative signals to deliver solutions that meet real user needs. With organizational backing, a clear technical charter, and flexibility for up to 100% remote work, this role provides a foundation for long-term growth in both technical and leadership dimensions.
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.
Required/Minimum Qualifications:
Other Requirements:
Additional or Preferred Qualifications:
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.
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
Microsoft will accept applications for the role until June 27, 2025.
Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.
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