Principal Group Software Engineering Manager

Overview

In July 2026, Microsoft introduced Project Perception, an agentic security system that brings together coordinated red, blue, and green AI agents to help organizations defend against cyber threats at machine speed. As one of Microsofts most significant investments in the future of security, Project Perception is helping redefine how AI can be used to identify, understand, and respond to an evolving threat landscape.

As a Principal Group Software Engineering Manager within the Agentic Security Org, you will play a critical leadership role in shaping and scaling this vision. You will lead the teams responsible for offensive and defensive AI agents, as well as the data science and applied machine learning capabilities that enable them to continuously learn, adapt, and improve. Working across engineering, security research, and data science disciplines, you will help build intelligent systems that are impactful, trustworthy, and designed with safety and responsible AI principles at their core.

Your charter is broad and highly visible: driving innovation across offensive security, defensive automation, and applied machine learning while fostering an inclusive, collaborative environment where diverse perspectives strengthen outcomes. You will be accountable for delivering agentic security capabilities that customers can rely on in real-world production environments and that help protect people, organizations, and digital ecosystems around the globe.

Microsofts mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Every 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.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategy, vision, and execution for Microsoft's offensive (Red) and defensive (Green) AI agent portfolios, enabling secure, scalable, and customer-focused security innovation.
• Foster an inclusive, high-performing culture where engineers, researchers, and data scientists can do their best work, grow their careers, and contribute diverse perspectives that strengthen outcomes.
• Drive the development and operation of offensive security agents, ensuring they are built and deployed with appropriate safety controls, governance, authorization frameworks, and Responsible AI principles.
• Lead the evolution of defensive agent capabilities that help organizations identify, prioritize, and address security findings by creating seamless experiences from detection through remediation.
• Partner across engineering, security research, product, and platform teams to align priorities, solve complex challenges, and deliver meaningful customer impact.
• Champion data-driven decision making through investment in agent quality, evaluation systems, safety measurements, operational excellence, and the economics of large-scale agentic systems.
• Establish technical direction and engineering excellence for highly available, production-grade AI systems that customers can trust in real-world environments.
• Hire, develop, and retain exceptional talent across software engineering, offensive security, and data science disciplines while creating opportunities for others to learn, grow, and lead.
• Coach and empower managers, technical leads, and individual contributors, building a diverse leadership pipeline and strengthening organizational capability over time.
• Model Microsoft's culture and values through collaboration, accountability, inclusion, continuous learning, and a commitment to empowering every person and organization to achieve more.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, or related technical discipline AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, 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 thereafter.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelors Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 15+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python

• OR Masters 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.

• 5+ years of experience in offensive security, defensive security operations, security research, or related domains, with knowledge of responsible, ethical, and safe security practices.

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, security engineering, machine learning, or a related technical field, including delivery of production-scale systems in security or other mission-critical environments.

• 6+ years of experience leading engineering organizations, including managing managers and developing high-performing, inclusive teams across engineering, security, and data science disciplines.

• 2+ years of experience building, deploying, or evaluating AI-powered, agentic, or large language model (LLM)-based systems, including quality, safety, governance, and operational effectiveness considerations.

#MSFTSecurity

Software Engineering M6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $165,600 - $296,400 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 $220,800 - $331,200 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.