Microsoft Principal Lead Software Development Engineer reviews

3.8

67% would recommend to a friend

(406 total reviews)
avatar

Satya Nadella

78% approve of CEO

65% positive business outlook

Principal Lead Software Development Engineer employees have rated Microsoft with 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 406 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Principal Lead Software Development Engineer professionals have a good working experience there. Microsoft is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Principal Lead Software Development Engineer professionals compared to other employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

406 reviews
3.0
Jul 24, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Hybrid working, compensation and benefits for 10+ years of employment.

Cons

Constant uncertainty (every quarter, there's worry about workforce pruning), poor work-life balance (emails received at 7-8pm are expected to have been actioned and sorted by 10am the next day), constant conflict between internal groups, sometimes the customer's wants and needs are ignored in favour of internal goals or someone's personal professional goals, there's a constant challenge on your ethics - sometmes it seems that you are battling every day to stay true to yourself and make sure you are doing the right thing for your customer against the corporate machine, and the constant pushing for up to date knowledge, skills and training makes it hard to balance the day job with all the certifications and trainings you are expected to keep up to date at all times.

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