Join Microsoft 365 Core Platform, the engine powering the world's leading productivity service. Our Connectors team is at the forefront of building the integration layer that brings enterprise data into Microsoft 365 and Copilot experiences. This strategic role offers the opportunity to define the future of connectors, expanding the reach of Microsoft 365 Copilot and ensuring secure, compliant access to diverse data sources.

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will be instrumental in shaping the architecture and engineering direction for connectors. This position is perfect for an innovative and hands-on engineer eager to drive significant customer and business impact through durable platform capabilities. Embrace Microsoft's mission to empower every person and organization to achieve more through a culture of respect, integrity, and accountability.

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will lead the technical vision and strategy for first-party connectors and their underlying platform. This involves designing and building AI-native systems, creating reusable frameworks, and establishing robust control planes for development, quality, security, and operations.

Key responsibilities include: - Defining end-to-end technical roadmaps for connector ecosystems. - Developing AI-driven engineering workflows to enhance developer velocity and product quality. - Building scalable SDKs, contracts, and control plane capabilities. - Leading technical implementation for security, data access, reliability, and responsible AI. - Collaborating across multiple engineering and product teams in a co-development model. - Translating complex business needs into pragmatic technical solutions. - Championing engineering excellence through scalable design, automated testing, and secure practices.

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer with a minimum of 6 years of technical engineering experience and a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or a related field. Expertise in programming languages such as C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python is essential.

Preferred qualifications include: - 14+ years of software engineering experience, with a strong background in designing and delivering large-scale distributed platforms or services. - Proven success as a hands-on technical leader who has shaped architecture and delivered complex, multi-year initiatives. - Deep expertise in cloud services, distributed systems, APIs, identity management, data integration, security, reliability, and observability. - Proficiency in AI-native development, including AI-assisted engineering, agents, grounding patterns, and responsible AI practices. - Strong collaboration and influence skills, with the ability to navigate organizational boundaries and work effectively in a co-development environment. - Excellent communication and technical judgment to align stakeholders and mentor engineers.