Is Microsoft a good company to work for as a Principal Software Engineer/Manager?

Principal Software Engineer/Manager professionals working at Microsoft have rated their employer with 3.7 out of 5 stars in 491 Glassdoor reviews. This is a lower than average score with the overall rating of Microsoft employees being 4.0 out of 5 stars. Search open Principal Software Engineer/Manager Jobs at Microsoft now and start preparing for your job interview by browsing frequently asked Principal Software Engineer/Manager interview questions at Microsoft .

Does Microsoft pay Principal Software Engineer/Manager employees well?

Principal Software Engineer/Manager professionals rate their compensation and benefits at Microsoft with 3.3 out of 5 stars based on 491 anonymously submitted employee reviews. This is 16.7% worse than the company average rating for salary and benefits. Find out more about Principal Software Engineer/Manager salaries at Microsoft.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Microsoft?

Software Engineer (6665) , Senior Software Engineer (1760) , Program Manager (1400) , Software Engineer II (1052) , Software Development Engineer (888) , Senior Program Manager (861) , Product Manager (727) , Intern (689) , Technical Support Engineer (688) , Software Developer (669) , Software Development Engineer (SDE) (631) , Consultant (548) , Software Engineer(Internship) (535) , Director (533) , Project Manager (480)

What are the pros of working at Microsoft according to real employee reviews?

"They provide great benefits and you get a lot of exposure if interested in full time corporate role" ((in 6235 reviews)); "Work/Life balance is good and entirely up to you make it what you want it to be" ((in 5400 reviews)); "Some really great people working in the Inside sales teams and the building is fantastic." ((in 4365 reviews)); "Office had a lot of talented folks when I left in 2023 and a great culture." ((in 4070 reviews)); "A lot of the work is driven by individual performance within a team environment and the pay is good." ((in 2123 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Microsoft according to real employee reviews?

"Bad managers abound and there is not much remedy for that except for leaving the job." ((in 1450 reviews)); "life balance in hardware due to frequent unplanned work travel and evening calls; bloated meetings; some poor management" ((in 1199 reviews)); "Frequent layoffs and zero job security regardless of your performance" ((in 795 reviews)); "Long hours you have to wait till the last customer leave it’s energy consuming some of the customers are unrespectful" ((in 476 reviews)); "Senior Leadership on their own mission for career advancement and have little time or concern for the core workforce." ((in 450 reviews))

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Microsoft

Microsoft Principal Software Engineer/Manager reviews

3.7

68% would recommend to a friend

(491 total reviews)

Satya Nadella

73% approve of CEO

65% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.6

Culture & values

3.6

Work/Life balance

3.5

Career opportunities

3.3

Compensation and benefits

3.1

Senior management

Principal Software Engineer/Manager employees have rated Microsoft with 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 491 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Principal Software Engineer/Manager professionals have a good working experience there. Microsoft is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Principal Software Engineer/Manager professionals compared to other employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

491 reviews

1.0

Jul 29, 2014

No vision can be done

Principal engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

He is internal guy.

Cons

Empty word from leadership at nowhere. No actual plan to survive in next decade

2.0

Mar 3, 2014

A stagnant company - More focused on its "diversity" than results

Principal consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Company name recognition - If you say you work at Microsoft, people know who the company is. Free access to Microsoft software.

Cons

This is a company in a cultural free-fall. Microsoft used to be its own worst critic - it helped improve its software by internally having high expectations. Now it is full of non-technologists (many are women who "don't understand technology, but are good at communicating, or "big picture people". So concerned about its image and its diversity - if you aren't gay or a particular race with some complaint, you're a minority.

4.0

Nov 7, 2013

Great opportunity to experience the broad industry and work with some amazing people

Principal consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great products, great people, great opportunity to impact those products

Cons

There is 100% Travel, and the size of company makes is less agile

Viewing 481 - 483 of 491 Reviews

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Microsoft Principal Software Engineer/Manager reviews

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Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

No vision can be done

A stagnant company - More focused on its "diversity" than results

Great opportunity to experience the broad industry and work with some amazing people

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