Principal Software Engineering Manager - Search

Overview

Join the Windows Platform and Developer (WPD) division's Search and AI Platform team as a Principal Software Engineering Manager. Lead a team of 7-10 engineers in delivering platform-level search and AI Platform capabilities. The team focuses on building next-generation search for File Explorer, Universal Search, Copilot, and future MCP/LLM integrations, as well as Windows AI Platform, which enables developers to integrate advanced AI capabilities into applications.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical direction and architecture for the Windows Search Platform from design through retail delivery.
• Drive the evolution of Search Platform into an AI-native infrastructure layer, enabling Copilot, MCP/LLM integrations, and future agentic discovery patterns.
• Lead cross-functional partnerships with Products, File Explorer, Windows Search Box, and other external partners.
• Establish and enforce release discipline and observability as first-class requirements.
• Define and drive data-backed engineering decisions across the platform.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of 7-10 engineers.
• Recruit and retain top systems engineering talent.
• Represent the team's work to senior leadership.
• Drive program execution across multiple concurrent tracks.
• Champion AI-assisted engineering practices.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience.
• 4+ years of people management experience leading engineering teams.
• Solid systems programming background with experience in platform/infrastructure-level software development.
• Experience 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.
• 6+ years of people management experience with a demonstrated track record of growing senior/principal-level engineers.
• Deep understanding of Windows internals, NT kernel, file systems, and OS-level search infrastructure.
• Experience driving multi-track programs with solid release governance and retail delivery discipline.
• Proven ability to drive architectural decisions across organizational boundaries.
• 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.