Principal Software Engineer - Microsoft Advertising

Overview

At the core of Microsoft Ads is a mission-critical, high-throughput real-time bidding (RTB) platform. It processes millions of auction requests per second, executes complex auction logic under strict latency constraints, and directly impacts revenue, win rate, partner satisfaction, and platform reliability.

This Principal Software Engineer role owns core architectural and technical evolution of the platform, focusing on modernization, performance, scalability, experimentation infrastructure, and operational excellence. The position requires deep expertise in low-latency distributed systems, solid leadership in large-scale refactoring and platform modernization, and close collaboration across engineering, data science, experimentation, and business stakeholders.

The engineer in this role drives initiatives with company-level impact, ensuring our platform can continue to scale, evolve, and support future Microsoft Ads growth.

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.

AI Experiences employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft Hub in the U.S. 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

• Own technical direction and execution for core components, a high-scale, latency-sensitive real-time bidding service at the heart of Microsoft Ads.
• Lead design and implementation of scalable, high-performance backend systems operating under strict latency and reliability requirements.
• Drive platform modernization and long-term sustainability of critical services, improving code quality, maintainability, and operational safety.
• Ensure performance, scalability, and stability of the service as traffic, data volume, and business requirements continue to grow.
• Define and evolve instrumentation, observability, and experimentation capabilities to support data-driven decision making and safe production changes.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners (engineering, data science, experimentation, product, and infrastructure) to align technical solutions with business goals.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship, influencing architecture decisions and engineering best practices across teams.

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.

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.
• Experience working on high-throughput, production systems where scalability, latency, and stability are critical.
• Experience with performance and system optimization/tuning.
• Demonstrated ability to design, evolve, and maintain complex systems over time.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver solutions aligned with business needs.
• Solid problem-solving skills and the ability to analyze and address performance or reliability issues in production environments.
• Experience with real-time bidding systems, ad tech, or high-frequency decision systems.
• Experience working with ML-driven decision systems or integrating models into production pipelines.
• Exposure to large-scale data processing or feature pipelines.
• Experience with cloud environments and modern deployment practices.

#AIX

Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $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.

Insights from previous hires

Top skills: Analytics, Architecture, Agents, Science, Project Management, PHP, MySQL, Management, Java, Context

Common previous titles: Senior Scientist, Engineer, Tech, Consultant, Senior Partner Manager, Senior Solution Architect, Software Engineer II, Senior Test Engineer