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Matt Wallaert
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Principal Software Engineer - Software for Open Networking in the Cloud

Microsoft

Microsoft

Software Engineering
Australia
Posted on Jan 7, 2026
Overview

Are you looking for an opportunity to build software and systems for some of the biggest data centers that humanity has ever created? The Azure Networking team is responsible for designing and building the software defined network infrastructure that powers millions of servers around the globe for Azure, Bing and other Microsoft cloud services. Azure Networking is at the forefront of Hyperscale Cloud Computing and runs one of the largest datacenter network infrastructures in the world. The Azure Networking team works on the breadth of networking offerings. The physical network team manages all physical switches and routers inside Azure datacenters.


We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) team. SONiC team owns all the software that is running on the switches and routers. We have lots of interesting problems to solve, such as supporting new generation switches ranging from 10G/40G to 100G/400G/800G/1.6T, adding feature packet forwarding features, providing extensive telemetry data for the switches, building artificial intelligence (AI) backend network, and designing features for smartswitch. The team is also building vibrant open-source community for the switch software, which is adopted by various other cloud providers.

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
  • Design and Implement networking protocols for AI frontend/backend and scale up network.
  • Onboarding new switch platform for AI frontend/backend/scaleup network
  • Interact with top switch vendors and switch asic vendors in the industry to define the new switch roadmap
  • Acts as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) and guides other engineers by developing and following the playbook, working on call to monitor system/product/service for degradation, downtime, or interruptions, alerting stakeholders about status and initiates actions to restore system/product/service for simple and complex problems when appropriate.
  • Proactively seeks new knowledge and adapts to new trends, technical solutions, and patterns that will improve the availability, reliability, efficiency, observability, and performance of products while also driving consistency in monitoring and operations at scale.


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.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
    • OR related technical field AND 10+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, OR Python
    • OR 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 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.

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.