Overview

Windows Search is undergoing a fundamental transformation — evolving from a traditional desktop file indexer into an intelligent, AI-powered Search Platform that underpins how users, applications, and AI agents discover, retrieve, and reason over information across the Windows ecosystem. We're also making strides in the development of Windows AI Platform equipping developers with robust tools to build AI-powered applications. Through offerings such as Windows ML, WebNN, and Foundry, the team simplifies the processes of model conversion, optimisation, and hardware acceleration, making it easier for developers to integrate advanced AI capabilities into their applications.

Come join our frontier engineering organization in the Windows Platform and Developer (WPD) division — specifically the Search and AI Platform team — focused on building the next-generation search that powers File Explorer, Universal Search, Copilot, and future MCP/LLM integrations and Windows AI Platform which powers developers to integration advanced AI capabilities into applications. We are looking for an experienced Principal Software Engineer Manager to lead a team of 7-10 engineers delivering platform-level search and AI Platform capabilities spanning local lexical and AI-powered semantic search with AI models running securely and locally on the device. We also work at the cross-section of bringing the power of next-generation Search Platform that brings the best of AI-powered results between Local FileSystem and Federated results sources including OneDrive, Dropbox and M365.

We are excited by candidates who live at the intersection of systems-level programming and platform architecture, are actively riding the wave of AI-assisted software development, and are passionate about growing individual contributors and building a high-performance engineering culture.

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.

Responsibilities

As the Principal Software Engineering Manager within the Windows Search Platform Engineering team, you will be responsible for:

Owning the technical direction and architecture for the Windows Search Platform from design through retail delivery.
Driving the evolution of Search Platform into an AI-native infrastructure layer, enabling Copilot, MCP/LLM integrations, and future agentic discovery patterns while maintaining enterprise-grade reliability and performance.
Leading cross-functional partnerships with Products, File Explorer, Windows Search Box and other external partners to drive architectural consensus, scope clarity, and release governance.
Establishing and enforcing release discipline and observability as first-class requirements.
Defining and driving data-backed engineering decisions across the platform.
Leading, mentoring, and growing a team of 7-10 engineers — running effective 1:1s, providing direct feedback, building clear growth paths, and cultivating a culture of engineering rigor, ownership, and speed.
Recruiting and retaining top systems engineering talent, with a bias toward people who are curious about and energized by AI-native development and Windows platform internals.
Representing your team's work to senior leadership, communicating trade-offs, risks, delivery timelines, and strategic context with clarity and confidence in forums such as Shiproom, Mission Controls, and leadership reviews.
Driving program execution across multiple concurrent tracks (8-10 workstreams), including sprint cadence, ADO hygiene, capacity planning, and cross-org alignment.
Championing AI-assisted engineering practices — leveraging agentic workflows, automation, and AI tooling to reduce KTLO burden, accelerate delivery, and multiply team velocity.
Thought leadership for the broader organization on search platform architecture.

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, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python.

OR equivalent experience.

4+ years of people management experience leading engineering teams.
Solid systems programming background with experience in platform/infrastructure-level software developmExperience with search/indexing systems, database internals, file systems, or information retrieval at scale.

Preferred Qualifications

Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience.

OR Bachelor's Degree AND 14+ years technical engineering experience.
OR equivalent experience.

6+ years of people management experience with demonstrated track record of growing senior/principal-level engineers.
Deep understanding of Windows internals, NT kernel, file systems (NTFS/ReFS), and OS-level search infrastructure.
Experience driving multi-track programs (5+ concurrent workstreams) with solid release governance and retail delivery discipline.
Proven ability to drive architectural decisions across organizational boundaries with multiple stakeholders having competing priorities.
Track record of defining and enforcing quality gates, telemetry pipelines, observability frameworks, and data-backed engineering decisions.
Experience with AI/ML integration in systems software — understanding of LLM consumption patterns, embedding-based retrieval, and AI-native platform design.
Methodical analytical skills with a systematic and structured approach to software design and architecture.
Confident and articulate in expressing ideas to mixed audiences including senior leadership with varying views and challenges.
A sense of personal ownership and accountability, together with the ability to develop and deliver to deadlines while managing stakeholder expectations across Windows releases.
Self-motivated with a dependable drive for reaching across teams and organizations to make progress collaboratively.

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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.

Principal Software Engineering Manager - Search