Overview

Join Microsoft’s CoreAI group as a Software Engineering Manager to build the AI Data Platform – the foundation for secure, scalable, reusable datasets that power AI model development across the company. This central platform manages the full lifecycle of Microsoft’s AI training data, accelerating AI model development with secure, reusable, and compliant datasets. The AI Data Platform team is responsible for large-scale data infrastructure, automation tools, and intelligent services that transform how Microsoft collects, generates, manages, and shares AI training data. As the Principal Software Engineering Manager for this team, you will lead a group of engineers to design and deliver Microsoft’s centralized training data management platform, collaborating with cross-functional partners to ensure the platform meets the needs of AI researchers and product teams.

Responsibilities

Lead the design and development of scalable data pipelines and services to manage and automate the AI dataset lifecycle (ingestion, registration, validation, discovery, sharing, lineage and synthetic data generation), including implementing intelligent, agent-driven automation for key operations. Ensure the architecture can handle distributed, large-scale data processing and storage needs for AI model training.

Oversee the development of secure and reliable infrastructure for data access, entitlement management, and 24/7 operational support across global regions. Implement robust data governance and compliance tools to ensure data integrity, auditability, and adherence to privacy/regulatory standards.

Drive the creation of user-friendly tools and APIs that make datasets easily discoverable and reusable by teams across Microsoft. Guide strategic enhancements such as continuous feedback loops, human-in-the-loop workflows, and data intelligence services to continually improve the quality and usability of training data.

Partner closely with other groups in CoreAI and across Microsoft to align on priorities and deliver company-wide impact through the AI Data Platform. Communicate effectively with product managers, data scientists, researchers, and engineering teams to integrate the platform with AI development workflows and ensure it meets evolving needs.

Build and mentor a high-performing engineering team, fostering an inclusive culture of innovation and growth. Provide technical direction, set clear objectives, and develop your engineers through coaching and feedback. Champion engineering best practices (code quality, testing, CI/CD) and a growth mindset culture to enable rapid, high-quality delivery of platform features.

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.

Other Qualifications:

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.

Preferred Qualifications:

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.

2+ years of people management experience leading software engineers, with a track record of hiring, coaching, and developing talent to achieve high performance.

4+ years of experience architecting or developing distributed systems, microservices, and containerized cloud services (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker).

Strong experience designing, building, and operating distributed systems or cloud services (Azure, AWS, GCP) and large-scale data pipelines. Demonstrated ability to architect and optimize complex data or infrastructure platforms at scale.

Proven project leadership skills with the ability to plan, prioritize, and deliver complex engineering projects on schedule. Solid understanding of software development lifecycle, agile methodologies, and DevOps practices.
Experience with data lifecycle management for large datasets (e.g. data ingestion, validation, cataloging/discovery, governance, and lineage tracking) in an enterprise or cloud environment.

Working knowledge of data privacy, compliance, and security best practices in large-scale data platforms – ensuring that data handling meets regulatory and ethical standards (GDPR, CCPA, etc.).

Familiarity with AI/ML workflows and training data preparation, including the use of techniques like synthetic data generation (e.g. leveraging large language models) for training and evaluation of AI models. Experience collaborating with AI research or applied science teams is a plus.

Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguous technical challenges and make sound decisions. Strong communication and collaboration skills, with experience driving cross-team initiatives and conveying technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Software Engineering M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $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.

Software Engineering Manager (CoreAI)