Principal Software Engineering Manager - CoreAI at Microsoft Corporation
Redmond, WA
$165,600–$296,400from the description
Jul 11, 2026
Redmond, WA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A people-management role leading a team of engineers building SDKs, UI, and agentic experiences for an AI platform that covers model inferencing, knowledge systems, and multi-agent solutions. The manager sets technical direction, shapes developer-facing platform capabilities, and maintains live-site health while coaching engineers and translating customer needs into durable, scalable products. Suits an experienced engineering leader with a background in developer tooling or AI/ML systems.
Principal level · 8+ years · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Bachelor's required · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 230 people in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (computer and information systems managers). range 170–300
Applicant volume Heavy — This req sits in a large pool with little in its requirements to thin it, and auto-apply tools fire at everything in the occupation. Applying early and leading with the rare skills below is what gets read.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $219,401 (middle half $175,322–$306,147). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (8)
This is a people-management role (Principal Software Engineering Manager, M6 level) with direct reports, hiring, and team leadership as primary responsibilities — classified accordingly as a Computer and Information Systems Managers role rather than an individual-contributor developer SOC. The alt SOC reflects the heavy hands-on technical direction component.
The posting does not specify a single work location beyond 'across the U.S.' with a callout for SF Bay Area and NYC metro pay bands; Microsoft's Foundry/CoreAI org is headquartered in Redmond, WA, so Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue CBSA is used as the primary metro.
The required degree is a Bachelor's in CS or related field with 8+ years experience, OR equivalent experience. Because the 'OR equivalent experience' clause is present, the degree requirement is set to Bachelors only — the JD does not hard-gate on the degree alone.
The coding-language requirement (C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python) is listed under Required Qualifications as a gate, but the 'including, but not limited to' phrasing and the 'or' structure mean any one of these languages satisfies the requirement; they are captured as a single skill with alternatives.
The 6+ years people management and 5+ years JavaScript/React/Python/.NET/C# experience appear under Preferred Qualifications and are marked accordingly.
The SF Bay Area / NYC metro pay range of USD $220,800–$331,200/year is noted here; the primary range of $165,600–$296,400 is used in the compensation fields as the national baseline.
The Microsoft Cloud Background Check is an internal screening requirement, not a US government security clearance — the clearance requirement is set to None.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): people management.
Read the full posting
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