Principal Cloud Network Engineer - CTJ - Top Secret

Join Microsoft’s Silver Core Networking Team, where we design, build, and operate the critical infrastructure that powers the cloud. Our mission is to deliver resilient, high-performance networking solutions that scale globally and meet the evolving needs of our customers. This role is ideal for those who thrive in customer-facing scenarios, enjoy solving complex problems, and want to shape the future.

As a Principal Cloud Network Engineer, you’ll work across a broad spectrum of technologies—from software-defined networking and global routing optimization to DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) protection and fiber infrastructure, collaborate with internal teams and external customers to deliver mission-critical solutions, drive architectural decisions, and ensure operational excellence.
We are seeking visionary and strategic principal-level leader with depth and breadth to drive the evolution of our focus on delivering value to customers in mission critical environments, enjoy a growth hacking culture, and are eager to play one of the most important long games for Microsoft.

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.

Required/Minimum Qualifications:

• Doctorate Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 3+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 4+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 6+ years technical experience in network design, development, and automation OR equivalent experience.

Other Requirements:

Security Clearance Requirements: Candidates must be able 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: 

• The successful candidate must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret Security Clearance. Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. Failure to maintain or obtain the appropriate clearance and/or customer screening requirements may result in employment action up to and including termination.
• Clearance Verification: This position requires successful verification of the stated security clearance to meet federal government customer requirements. You will be asked to provide clearance verification information prior to an offer of employment.    
• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.   
• Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This position requires verification of U.S. citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local United States government agency customer and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport, or other approved documents, or verified US government Clearance 

Preferred/Additional Qualifications: 

• 10+ years of experience in networking as a broad foundation to include foundational security implementations
• Experience with routing protocols, VPN (Virtual Private Network) solutions, DNS (Domain Name System), IPv6 address management
• Proven ability to operate across multiple roles—design, deployment, operations, and project management.
• Understanding of software architecture and ability to translate requirements to development teams.
• Scripting experience (Python, PowerShell, C#) for automation.
• Experience with industry governing bodies

Cloud Network Engineering IC5 - 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

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until August 30, 2025.

#Silver

Customer Engagement & Solution Design

• Serve as a trusted advisor to customers and internal stakeholders by translating complex requirements into scalable, secure, and resilient network solutions.
• Drive solution implementation from concept to production, ensuring alignment with customer goals and operational excellence.
• Influence industry standards and governing bodies by articulating the impact of hyperscale networking innovations.
• Able to pivot priorities and initiatives based on evolving customer scenarios and business demands

Strategic Influence & Leadership

• Champion a culture of experimentation, agility, and continuous learning across customer engineering teams.
• Lead design reviews, mentor peers, and shape strategic initiatives in a high-growth, high-visibility environment.
• Promote diversity, inclusion, and psychological safety to foster creativity and innovation.
• Inspire teams to adopt a growth mindset and maintain a customer-obsessed approach to engineering.

Security-First Mindset

• Proactively identify and mitigate risks to strengthen the security posture of customer-facing solutions.
• Ensure security is embedded in every phase of design, deployment, and operations, prioritizing customer trust and compliance.

End-to-End Ownership

• Collaborate with engineering partners to deeply understand customer scenarios, define clear requirements, and establish measurable OKRs.
• Own the full lifecycle of features—from design and development to deployment and support—ensuring accountability and excellence.

Cross-Team Collaboration

• Partner with Azure Networking and broader Azure teams to align on architecture, share best practices, and deliver impactful solutions.
• Advocate for customer needs by elevating dependencies and driving resolution across organizational boundaries to unblock critical scenarios.

IP Address Management for Special Programs

• Design and oversee implementation of IPv4 and IPv6 address management systems that satisfy all security requirements for special programs.
• DNS resiliency for airgapped clouds
• Design and oversee implementation of robust DNS resiliency systems for airgapped clouds.
• NTP resiliency for airgapped clouds
  Design and oversee implementation of robust NTP and PTP resiliency systems for airgapped clouds.

Embody our culture and values.