Principal AI Engineer

Microsoft Security aspires to make the world a safer place for all. We are seeking a Principal AI Engineer - Platform to help define the technical direction for the Platform + Apps group, designing and architecting solutions for large problems and driving development of microservices and ML inference pipelines.

Responsibilities:

• Define the technical vision, architecture, and roadmap for the platform; align stakeholders across Security AI, partner product teams, and Azure AI to deliver cohesive customer value
• Drive technical direction for engineers building microservices, ML inference pipelines, APIs, and user interfaces
• Architect multi-tier ML inference systems: high-performance rule engines, LLM serving, transformer models, and intelligent caching strategies
• Provide hands-on technical leadership: prototype critical components, review designs and PRs, define API contracts, establish coding standards, and build evaluation frameworks
• Drive microservices architecture decisions: service decomposition, API design (REST/gRPC), data models, state management, and inter-service communication patterns
• Own the end-to-end product development lifecycle: requirements analysis, technical design, implementation, testing, and deployment coordination with AI Operations
• Collaborate with AI Operations team on deployment strategies, infrastructure requirements, and operational readiness for new features
• Ensure Responsible AI, privacy, and security guardrails are designed in from day one; coordinate safety reviews and compliance requirements
• Mentor senior and mid-level engineers; cultivate a builder culture of velocity, quality, and continuous improvement
• Engage with enterprise customers and partner teams to co-design solutions; communicate technical roadmaps and demonstrate capabilities to executives
• Embody our culture and values

Requirements:

• 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 Python OR equivalent experience
• 6+ years technical engineering experience building production software systems
• 6+ years driving complex, cross-functional initiatives; demonstrated success leading without authority across multiple teams
• 4+ years working with Machine Learning/AI production systems
• 3+ years building and operating large-scale distributed systems and microservices architectures
• 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
• 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 Python OR 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 Python OR equivalent experience
• Proven track record shipping ML inference platforms or AI-powered products at scale with measurable customer and business impact
• Deep knowledge in ML inference technologies: model serving frameworks, LLM inference platforms, model optimization, and GPU resource management
• Experience guiding full-stack development spanning backend services (C#/.NET, Python) and frontend applications (React, TypeScript)
• Security domain knowledge (threat detection, SIEM/SOAR, attack pattern recognition) and familiarity with security analyst workflows
• Experience with Azure infrastructure: AKS, Event Hub, Kusto/ADX, Cosmos DB, Redis, and Infrastructure as Code (Bicep, Helm)
• Background in API design: REST, gRPC, OpenAPI, versioning strategies, and backward compatibility
• Demonstrated success mentoring engineers and influencing technical direction without direct authority