Principal Software Engineering Manager

Overview Do you want to be part of the team that is working on delivering cutting edge Search capabilities as a part of Microsoft AI team in Hyderabad. Are you a solid hands-on Engineering leader with a solid sense of purpose and grit to navigate a fast-paced environment?

We at looking for a Principal Software Engineer Manager to help shape Search experiences for the future with the ability to spa\n across the stack, building & running services at scale with high reliability.

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.

Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50-mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location 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

• People Leadership: Lead, mentor, and grow a team of software engineers and data scientists. Drive hiring, onboarding, performance management, and career development. Foster an inclusive, high-performance, and collaborative engineering culture. Support engineers through coaching, feedback, and continuous development.
• Delivery & Execution: Partner with Product Managers, Architects, Designers and Stakeholders to define roadmaps and priorities. Own end-to-end delivery of strategic initiatives with predictable execution. Drive sprint planning, estimation, prioritization, and release management. Manage risks, dependencies, and stakeholder communications effectively.
• Technical Leadership: End to End Technical Leadership providing technical guidance and architectural direction for scalable software solutions. Be extremely hands on and lead by example while utilizing cutting edge AI tools to make engineering progress, reliability enhancements and scaling. Drive engineering best practices across design, coding, testing, security, and operations. Ensure platform reliability, performance, availability, and operational excellence. Champion automation, observability, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 10+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of software engineering experience with 3+ years experience leading/managing a high performance engineering team.
• Experience in developing, designing, and shipping high quality code across multiple platforms/services.   
• Excellent hands-on design, coding, architecture, validation, and debugging skills.
• Great communication and collaboration skills. 
• Track record of driving projects independently, taking calculated smart risks and executing on them successfully.

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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.