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Principal Software Engineering Manager Jobs in Redmond, WA

Microsoft

Principal Software Engineering Manager

Redmond, WA · On-site

$151K - $202K/yr

As a Principal Software Engineering Manager , you will lead the end-to-end software development lifecycle, including requirement gathering, architecture, application and database design, development ...

ProRata

Principal Software Engineering Manager

Bellevue, WA · On-site +1

$220K - $260K/yr

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineering Manager (Tech Lead) to play a foundational role in designing and scaling our ProRata Ads infrastructure. You will own critical components of the ad ...

Microsoft

Principal Software Engineering Manager

Redmond, WA · On-site

$151K - $202K/yr

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineering Manager to lead a team building autonomous operational capabilities for COSMIC. This team is responsible for the agentic infrastructure, intelligent ...

Nordstrom, Inc.

Principal Software Engineer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$200 - $250/hr

Set technical direction for a 150+ engineering org on how the org designs, builds, and ships code ... Domain experience with inventory management, warehouse management systems (WMS), or RFID-based ...

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All JobsPrincipal Software Engineering JobsPrincipal Software Engineering Manager JobsPrincipal Software Engineering Manager Jobs in Redmond, WA

Principal Software Engineering Manager information

See Redmond, WA salary details

$67.8K

$180.2K

$258.7K

How much do principal software engineering manager jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 9, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal software engineering manager in Redmond, WA is $180,241.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $151,200.00 and $202,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a principal software engineering manager?

A Principal Software Engineering Manager is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing multiple engineering teams, setting technical direction, and ensuring the successful delivery of complex software projects. They combine deep technical expertise with strong leadership skills to mentor engineers, drive architectural decisions, and collaborate with stakeholders across the organization. This role often involves strategic planning, talent development, and fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within the engineering department.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a principal software engineering manager?

To thrive as a Principal Software Engineering Manager, you need deep expertise in software development, strong architectural knowledge, and significant leadership experience, often supported by a relevant degree and years of technical management. Familiarity with cloud platforms (such as Azure or AWS), advanced programming languages, and project management tools (like Jira or Azure DevOps) is typically required. Outstanding communication, team-building, and strategic thinking skills set top performers apart in this role. These skills ensure effective technical direction, successful project delivery, and cohesive, high-performing engineering teams.

How does a principal software engineering manager typically balance technical leadership with people management responsibilities?

A Principal Software Engineering Manager often balances technical leadership and people management by dedicating time to both architectural decision-making and team development. This involves participating in high-level design discussions, guiding technical strategy, and ensuring best practices are followed, while also conducting regular one-on-ones, mentoring engineers, and supporting professional growth. Effective delegation, clear communication, and collaboration with cross-functional teams are key to managing this dual scope. Many find that prioritizing transparency and empowering team leads helps maintain this balance and drive both project and people success.

What is the difference between Principal Software Engineering Manager vs Software Development Manager?

AspectPrincipal Software Engineering ManagerSoftware Development Manager
ResponsibilitiesOversees multiple teams, sets technical strategy, influences product architectureManages a single development team, focuses on project delivery and team performance
Required CredentialsTypically requires extensive software engineering experience, leadership skills, often a bachelor's or master's degree in CS or related fieldUsually requires experience in software development and team management, with similar educational background
Work EnvironmentStrategic, cross-team collaboration, high-level decision makingOperational, project-focused, team management
Industry UsageCommon in large tech companies and organizations with multiple product linesWidely used across various companies for team-level management

The main difference between a Principal Software Engineering Manager and a Software Development Manager lies in scope and strategic influence. The Principal role involves overseeing multiple teams and shaping technical direction, while the Software Development Manager focuses on managing a single team and project execution.

What cities near Redmond, WA are hiring for Principal Software Engineering Manager jobs?

Cities near Redmond, WA with the most Principal Software Engineering Manager job openings:

Infographic showing various Principal Software Engineering Manager job openings in Redmond, WA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 87% Full Time, 11% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 81% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 17% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $180,241 per year, or $86.7 per hour.

Principal Software Engineering Manager - CoreAI

Redmond, WA • On-site

Microsoft
Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software Wholesalers • 10K+ employees
Learn more about Microsoftexternal

Full-time

Re-posted 20 days ago

Microsoft rating

8.6

Company rating: 8.6 out of 10

Based on 134 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

70th of 247 rated software companies

Job description

Overview
Do you want to lead a team building the C# language, compiler, and developer tools used by millions of developers around the world?
The C# team is looking for a Principal Software Engineering Manager to lead a team working on the C# compiler and developer experiences across Copilot, Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio and other development environments. The team builds tools and language features help developers and agents understand, navigate, write, and improve their code, while increasingly exploring how AI can transform the software development experience.
Our work includes C# compiler and language capabilities as well as developer productivity experiences such as LLM LSP integration, code search, code completion, IntelliSense, background code analysis, navigation, refactorings, automatic test execution, and other AI-assisted coding experiences. We work across the .NET and developer tools stack to make building software in C# productive, reliable, and enjoyable.
As a Principal Software Engineering Manager, you will lead a team of engineers responsible for delivering these experiences. You will develop and grow engineers, establish technical and product direction with partners, create an inclusive and collaborative team culture, and ensure the team delivers high-quality solutions for developers at scale. You will also work closely with leaders and teams across .NET, Copilot, Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio and the broader developer community.
AI is rapidly changing both how software is developed and the experiences developers expect from their tools. Team members are expected to incorporate AI-assisted development into their own engineering workflows, share effective practices with one another, and explore how AI can enable new developer experiences. As the manager of a developer tools team, you will help shape how the team uses AI to improve its engineering processes as well as how we incorporate AI into the products we build.
Microsoft's Developer Division ("DevDiv") is chartered with empowering every developer and every development team on the planet to build great software faster. The .NET team within DevDiv builds the .NET development platform for creating applications across operating systems, architectures, and workloads. Millions of developers use .NET, and this role provides an opportunity to directly influence the languages, tools, and experiences they use every day.
Responsibilities
As a Principal Software Engineering Manager on the Roslyn team, you will:
  • Lead, coach, and grow a team of software engineers, creating an inclusive environment where people can do their best work and develop their careers.
  • Establish clear priorities and engineering direction for the team in partnership with product management, design, and engineering leaders.
  • Provide leadership for complex areas of the C# compiler and developer tools ecosystem, helping the team make sound architectural decisions and balance near-term delivery with long-term investments.
  • Build a an engineering culture centered on quality, customer focus, accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and thoughtful technical decision-making.
  • Use customer feedback, experimentation, performance data, and production telemetry to understand how features are working and identify opportunities for improvement.
  • Collaborate with teams across Microsoft and with the open-source community to solve challenging technical and architectural problems that span organizational boundaries.
  • Help the team effectively adopt AI-assisted development practices and identify opportunities to use AI to improve engineering productivity, product quality, and developer experiences.
  • Participate in planning and prioritization across the broader .NET and developer tools organization and communicate strategy, tradeoffs, progress, and risks to stakeholders.
  • Stay current with developments across the .NET platform, Copliot ecosystem, C# language and developer tools ecosystem, and rapidly evolving AI-assisted software development landscape.
  • Contribute to the broader engineering organization by sharing technical and leadership expertise, developing future leaders, and improving engineering practices beyond the immediate team.

Qualifications
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#, Java, C++, JavaScript, or Python
    • OR 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

Preferred Qualifications
  • 2+ years of people management experience, including experience developing and growing software engineers or equivalent leadership experience
  • Significant experience designing, building, testing, and operating complex commercial software systems.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills and demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across organizational boundaries.
  • 5+ years of software engineering experience, including substantial experience developing and testing commercial software in C#.
  • Experience working with C#, .NET, compilers, developer tools, IDEs, or related software development technologies.
  • Experience leading engineering teams responsible for technically complex, widely used software.
  • Excellent technical judgment with the ability to dive deeply into implementation details while also framing broader architectural and product decisions.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead teams through ambiguous technical and product problems and translate long-term strategy into executable plans.
  • Experience diagnosing and improving software performance, reliability, and scalability.
  • Experience using telemetry, experimentation, and customer feedback to drive engineering and product decisions.
  • Customer empathy and a persistent desire to understand how developers use our products.
  • Experience using AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot or similar technologies to improve engineering productivity and code quality.
  • Familiarity with large language models and modern AI development tools and platforms, including their application to software engineering and developer tools.
  • Experience contributing to or leading development in a large open-source software community.

#DDJL
#coreai
Software Engineering M5 - 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.

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About Microsoft

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Our infrastructure is comprised of a large global portfolio of more than 100 datacenters and 1 million servers. Our foundation is built upon and managed by a team of subject matter experts working to support services for more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in over 90 countries worldwide. With environmental sustainability and optimization at the forefront of our datacenter design and operations, we continue to grow and evolve as we meet the ever-changing business demands that hold Microsoft as a world-class cloud provider.

Industry

Computer and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Redmond, WA, US

Year founded

1975

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