Principal Cloud Network Engineer

Microsoft Digital (MSD) builds and manages the critical products and services that Microsoft runs on. We boldly pursue big ideas that power transformational advances at Microsoft and for our customers, while helping Microsoft teams work smarter, faster, and more securely every day. Microsoft Digital employees have deep technical and business expertise, customer insights, and a clear point of view that comes from first-hand, large-scale experience with Microsoft and industry solutions. We are engineers, technology leaders and experts, digital transformation change agents, and customer advocates.

We have exciting opportunities for you to innovate, influence, transform, inspire, and grow within our organization and we encourage you to apply to learn more!

As a Principal Cloud Network Engineer, you will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for defining the architecture, network security strategy, and modernization roadmap for Microsoft's global enterprise network infrastructure. Spanning multiple network service lines and global network infrastructure across Microsoft sites and datacenters, you will establish technical direction, architectural standards, and engineering principles that drive secure, resilient, and scalable network services worldwide.

You will partner across engineering, security, infrastructure, product, and business organizations to design next-generation network capabilities using Zero Trust, automation, AI, observability, and cloud-native platforms. As a recognized technical authority, you will influence product strategy, lead complex architecture initiatives, and advance Microsoft’s vision for Agentic Network Engineering through AI-driven operations and autonomous service management.

This role requires deep technical expertise, strategic thinking, security acumen, and cross-organizational influence to modernize and secure the critical network infrastructure supporting Microsoft employees, product groups, vendors, and dependent services globally.

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.

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In this role, you will:

• Lead the architecture and implementation of secure, resilient, and scalable network services across Microsoft sites and datacenters worldwide, establishing a clear technical vision and modernization roadmap.
• Define enterprise network security architectures grounded in Zero Trust, identity-based access, adaptive policy, segmentation, and least-privilege principles.
• Partner with engineering and security leaders to establish architecture standards, design patterns, and governance across diverse network services and critical business environments.
• Shape Microsoft’s Agentic Network Engineering strategy by designing frameworks that apply large language models, intelligent agents, machine learning, and predictive analytics to engineering and operations.
• Collaborate with software and product engineering teams to build scalable AI-enabled capabilities that accelerate delivery, improve reliability, reduce operational effort, and strengthen the engineer experience.
• Advance automation and Infrastructure as Code practices that make network changes safer, repeatable, testable, and easier to operate at global scale.
• Establish observability and service-health strategies that provide actionable insights, improve incident prevention and diagnosis, and enable data-driven decisions.
• Evaluate emerging networking, security, cloud, automation, and AI technologies; lead proofs of concept and translate successful outcomes into practical adoption roadmaps.
• Lead architecture reviews for high-impact initiatives, ensuring designs meet security, resilience, scalability, performance, supportability, and lifecycle requirements.
• Influence technical direction across engineering, security, infrastructure, product, and business organizations through clear recommendations, architectural guidance, and executive communication.
• Balance innovation with operational excellence by ensuring new capabilities can be securely deployed, measured, operated, and supported worldwide.
• Mentor engineers and technical leaders, raise architecture and engineering practices, and foster a culture of curiosity, inclusion, accountability, and continuous learning.

Required Qualifications:

• 9+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or related field AND 6+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation.
  • OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 4+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation
  • OR Doctorate Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 3+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience serving as a technical lead, principal engineer, network architect, or equivalent senior technical role with responsibility for architecture decisions across multiple engineering teams.
• Experience designing and supporting large-scale enterprise networks across multiple technology domains, such as routing, switching, wireless, network security, telecommunications, Network Access Control, or cloud networking.
• Experience leading cross-organizational technical initiatives and driving architecture decisions across engineering, security, operations, and senior leadership stakeholders.
• Experience leading enterprise-scale network modernization or transformation initiatives involving Zero Trust networking, automation, Infrastructure as Code, AI-enabled operations, Agentic Engineering, or large-scale technology migrations.
• Experience establishing enterprise architecture standards, design patterns, governance models, or technology adoption roadmaps across multiple network services.
• Proficiency with programming and automation technologies such as Python, Ansible, APIs, source control, CI/CD pipelines, and GitOps-based operational models.
• Experience with enterprise networking technologies including Cisco, Arista, Aruba, Palo Alto, F5, Opengear, AudioCodes, cellular technologies, and cloud networking platforms.
• Relevant industry certification in network architecture, cloud networking, cybersecurity, or enterprise architecture, such as CCNP, CCIE, CISSP, or an equivalent credential.

Cloud Network 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.