Principal Software Engineer - Microsoft Advertising

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 PythonOR equivalent experience.

Other Requirements: 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.

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 PythonOR 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 PythonOR equivalent experience. Experience working on high-throughput, production systems where scalability, latency, and stability are critical. Demonstrated ability to design, evolve, and maintain complex systems over time. Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver solutions aligned with business needs. Problem-solving skills and 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. Familiarity with experimentation platforms, A/B testing, or traffic shaping 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.