Microsoft Salary

💰 $158K–$211K salary range

Median: $180K  ·  Based on 139 public Microsoft job postings  ·  Updated October 17, 2026

This Microsoft salary benchmark is built from public job postings — no private placement data. Figures reflect the posted-range midpoint (equity is separate) and are refreshed as new postings are collected.

📊 Salary breakdown

Highest-paying open roles at Microsoft

• Solution Area Specialist — $651K · Solution Area Specialists
• Senior Critical Environment Technician — $520K · Critical Environment Ops
• Principal Software Engineer — $221K–$331K · Software Engineering
• Senior Designer — $188K–$331K · Art
• Principal Data Scientist - AI Infrastructure — $221K–$331K · Data Science
• Critical Environment Technician (Shifts) — $315K · Critical Environment Ops
• Principal Supercomputing Operations Software Engineer — $188K–$304K · Software Engineering
• Principal Silicon Engineer - System Modeling — $188K–$304K · Silicon Engineering
• Software Engineering Manager - Build and Tools — $188K–$304K · Software Engineering
• Principal Applied Threat Intelligence Manager — $188K–$304K · Security Research

Microsoft salary by department

• software engineering: $211K median · $331K top base — Principal Software Engineer (view JD) (29 roles)
• technical program management: $211K median · $304K top base — Director, MAVS Technology & Product (view JD) (7 roles)
• business program management: $204K median · $277K top base — Director, Business Program Management (view JD) (5 roles)
• strategic account technology: $191K median · $272K top base — Strategic Account Technology- Strategist (view JD) (6 roles)
• cloud solution architecture: $155K median · $223K top base — Cloud Solution Architect (view JD) (13 roles)
• digital solution engineering: $150K median · $252K top base — Digital Security Engineer (view JD) (5 roles)

Microsoft engineering & product salary by seniority

• Mid: $177K median · $275K top base — Technical Program Manager (view JD) (27)
• Senior: $180K median · $331K top base — Senior Designer (view JD) (41)
• Staff: $246K median · $651K top base — Solution Area Specialist (view JD) (14)

Microsoft salary by location

• New York: $191K median · $252K top base — Director of Manufacturing & Energy Startups (view JD) (4 roles)

Remote work at Microsoft

0% of Microsoft's disclosed-pay roles are remote-friendly.

What Microsoft looks for

Most-required skills across these postings: Azure (44) · Python (28) · Java (23) · JavaScript (21) · AWS (8) · Escalation Management (6) · CI/CD (5) · SQL (5) · Go (4) · Product Roadmap (4).

About Microsoft

Microsoft is Public stage · 10,001+ employees · founded 1975 · HQ Redmond, Washington. This context shapes pay: later-stage, well-funded companies tend to anchor base salary higher.

Experience & background at Microsoft

Roles typically ask for around 5 years of experience (up to 12+ for the most senior). Most postings don't state a degree requirement; of the 126 that do, Bachelor's is most common.

Posted pay vs. total compensation

The figures on this page are the midpoint of each posting's advertised salary range (which, for commission roles, includes on-target earnings). Equity is a separate — and often large — component of total compensation, especially at high-growth and AI-native companies; 30% of these postings reference equity. Equity is not included in the medians above.

Microsoft hiring activity

Microsoft has 139 open roles right now, and this benchmark draws on 139 public job postings with disclosed pay. 84 of these roles were first seen in the last 30 days (124 in the last 90). Mostly full-time, with 4 contract roles in the mix.

💼 Similar companies hiring

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📚 Salary guides & rankings

Top-Paying Tech Companies for Engineers (2026) · Highest-Paying Cities for Software Engineers · Highest-Paying Engineering Roles

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Common questions

What does Microsoft pay?
The median pay is $180K, with a typical range of $158K–$211K, based on 139 public job postings (2025–2026). Base only — equity is separate.

What is the highest-paying job at Microsoft?
One of the highest-paying open roles is Solution Area Specialist, at $651K base.

Which team pays the most at Microsoft?
The software engineering team, at a $211K median.

Where does this data come from?
Public job postings on company career pages and public job boards — no private placement or client data.

Methodology

Posted-range midpoints (USD) aggregated from 139 public Microsoft job postings (2025–2026). Range = 25th–75th percentile; median = 50th percentile. Roles, departments, skills, and experience are parsed from the postings. Base salary only — equity excluded. Last refreshed October 17, 2026.

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