Microsoft Engineering Levels and Salary

Like many large tech companies, Microsoft uses a level/grade structure for engineering and technical individual contributors (ICs) to define scope, seniority, compensation bands, career progression, and expectations. For engineers, one typical path is: SDE → SDE II → Senior SDE → Principal SDE → Partner/Distinguished etc. Microsoft’s levels for software engineers often run roughly from Level 59 (or 59‑60) for entry ICs, up to Level 70 for distinguished engineers.

In large technology companies like Microsoft, engineering careers are structured according to “levels” (also called bands). These levels define seniority, scope of impact, expectation of autonomy, mentorship, leadership, and compensation. Knowing how levels map to experience, role responsibilities and pay is crucial—especially if you’re evaluating an offer, planning your growth, or negotiating.

At Microsoft, for technical individual contributors (ICs) in software engineering roles, a commonly referenced mapping is:

• Levels 58, 59, 60: entry/early‑career engineers
• Levels 61‑62: mid‑career (SDE II)
• Levels 63‑64: senior engineers
• Levels 65‑67: principal engineers
• Levels 68‑69: partner‑level or senior principal ICs
• Level 70: distinguished engineer / technical fellow

Understanding these levels can help you:

• Evaluate job offers and entries (“what level is this?”)
• Understand what to aim for in promotions
• Negotiate compensation or role expectations
• Structure your portfolio of responsibilities accordingly

Compensation data confirms wide variation: from around US$160 K total comp at Level 59, to over US$1 million at Level 70 in some cases.

Let’s walk through key levels and what to expect. Below you’ll find level‑by‑level breakdowns.

Level 58 – Junior Engineer / Associate Software Engineer

Typical Experience: ~0‑2 years
Role / Responsibilities:

• Works under close supervision, delivers small tasks or features.
• Learns the codebase, tools, production environment, CI/CD, testing.
• Collaborates with teammates, participates in code reviews, writes reliable code.
• Gaining breadth of skills; focus is on learning the systems and environment.
  Compensation (approx):
• U.S.: Base roughly USD $70K‑$95K (plus bonuses/stock)
• U.K.: Around GBP £45K‑£65K base, total comp varying by stock/bonus
• Canada: CAD ~$80K‑$110K base (depending on city)
• India: ₹16 lakh‑₹25 lakh base roughly (higher in premium locations)
  Key Takeaways:
• This level is foundational — mastering fundamentals is more important than scale of impact.
• Transitioning upward involves showing independence, ownership of modules, and quality delivery.

Level 59 – Software Development Engineer I (SDE I)

Typical Experience: ~0‑3 years (often early career)
Role / Responsibilities:

• Own small modules or features from design through deployment with moderate oversight.
• Write clean code, implement tests, monitor production behavior, fix bugs.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional roles (product/design/QA) and begin influencing small design decisions.
• Focus begins to shift from “learning” to “delivering reliably”.
  Compensation (approx):
• U.S.: Total compensation around USD $160K (base ~US$126K + stock ~US$22K + bonus ~US$13K) in many cases.
• U.K.: For Level 59 in U.K., typical total comp ~GBP £64.5K.
• Canada / India: Data sparser; India early levels often range ~₹20‑40 lakh total comp depending on stock/bonus.
  Key Takeaways:
• At this level you’re expected to deliver features with minimal guidance.
• Demonstrate ownership of tasks, the ability to scale your work, collaborate effectively.
• To reach next level, you’ll need to show increasing autonomy, quality, breadth.

Level 60 – Software Development Engineer I (upper band)

Typical Experience: ~1‑4 years (depending on team)
Role / Responsibilities:

• Similar title to Level 59, but expected to handle more complex tasks or larger modules, perhaps fewer supervision.
• Design aspects of features, implement and test, take ownership of modules.
• Begin contributing to architecture/design discussions within your team.
• Mentor interns/juniors occasionally, participate in improving codebase and practices.
  Compensation (approx):
• U.S.: Median total comp around USD $177,000 (base ~US$139K, stock ~US$27K, bonus ~US$10.5K).
• U.K.: For Level 60 U.K., total comp ~GBP £73.3K (base ~£61.8K, stock ~£6.5K, bonus ~£5K).
• India / Canada: Variation wide; Indian numbers likely in ₹30‑50 lakh+ total comp bands for good cases.
  Key Takeaways:
• This “upper band” of entry/early engineer means you should be functioning with low supervision, reliable delivery, increasing scope.
• Expect to influence architecture/decisions within your team, not just implementation.
• To progress to Level 61/62, focus on owning subsystems, mentoring, and cross‑team work.

Level 61–62 – Software Development Engineer II (SDE II)

Typical Experience: ~2‑5 years (varies by specialty/team)
Role / Responsibilities:

• Own medium-to-large features or entire subsystems. You have full ownership from design to production.
• Mentor more junior engineers/interns, contribute to hiring decisions, help shape team practices and code quality.
• Coordinate dependencies across teams, perform system design, ensure reliability and performance.
• Proactively identify technical debt, suggest and execute improvements.
  Compensation (approx):
• U.S.: Often total comp around USD $200K+ (e.g., ~$203K for Level 61).
• U.K.: Example for Level 62: total comp ~GBP £90.3K (base ~£68.7K, stock ~£15.2K, bonus ~£6.4K).
• India: Data suggests senior levels (~Level 62) may have base ~₹47 lakh + stock ~₹22 lakh + bonus ~₹5.5 lakh among some reports.
  Key Takeaways:
• At this level your contributions span beyond just your team. You're expected to lead subsystems, influence architecture, and mentor others.
• Impact matters — your work should affect metrics (performance, cost, user experience) and be visible beyond your module.

Level 63–64 – Senior SDE / Senior Software Engineer

Typical Experience: ~5‑10 years
Role / Responsibilities:

• You lead the design and delivery of major features or multiple modules. Still an IC, but leadership in a technical sense.
• Define architecture, trade‑offs, scalability, performance, and reliability needs for significant areas.
• Mentor and guide multiple engineers, influence hiring, help set technical culture, review other teams.
• Collaborate cross‑team and possibly cross‑product. Impact on business/product metrics is expected.
  Compensation (approx):
• U.S.: Common total comp around USD $220K‑$300K or more.
• U.K.: Data suggests principal/near senior shows total comp ~£200K+ for comparable levels in U.K.
• India: Reports show senior SDE base ~₹47 lakh plus stock/bonus making total ~₹76‑77 lakh in some cases.
  Key Takeaways:
• This level marks a transition into technical leadership: you’re expected to not only deliver but guide others, shape architecture, influence product direction.
• To move to principal level, you must show broad impact, cross‑team influence, mentoring and technical vision.

Level 65–67 – Principal SDE / Principal Engineer

Typical Experience: ~8‑15 years (specialty dependent)
Role / Responsibilities:

• Lead large systems, platforms or major product areas, often spanning multiple teams or functions.
• Set technical strategy, architecture, standards across teams, and ensure long‑term vision.
• Mentor senior engineers, define best practices, lead hiring, influence technical culture company‑wide.
• Engage directly with senior leadership; decisions you make affect business strategy or major product lines.
  Compensation (approx):
• U.S.: Total compensation often ~$300K‑$500K+; at upper end possibly higher.
• U.K.: Comparable senior levels show compensation ~£200K‑£300K+ plus stock/bonuses.
• India: Senior/principal levels may reach multiple crores of rupees in total comp for strong candidates.
  Key Takeaways:
• At this level, technical scope is broad and strategic rather than narrow. You’re an architect and influencer, not just builder.
• To progress further you’ll need to affect company‑level strategy, influence many teams and external partners.

Level 68–69 – Partner / Senior Principal Engineer

Typical Experience: ~10‑20+ years
Role / Responsibilities:

• Influence entire product lines or divisions. You shape technical strategy in alignment with business goals.
• Serve as top technical leader in your domain; often mentor principal engineers, set roadmaps, engage with executives and external partners.
• Your work transcends individual features or systems — you’re responsible for ecosystem, platform, long‑term innovation.
  Compensation (approx):
• U.S.: Total compensation ~$700K‑$1.1M+ for many at these levels.
• U.K./India: Fewer public data points, but compensation at this level is among the highest for IC track and may include very large stock awards or long‑term incentives.
  Key Takeaways:
• At this level you’re one of the senior technical leaders in the organisation.
• Coding may still happen, but you’re often defining what others should build rather than building everything yourself.
• You must have track record of large‑scale impact, business alignment, and influence across the company.

Level 70 – Distinguished Engineer / Technical Fellow

Typical Experience: 15+ years, exceptional track record of technical leadership
Role / Responsibilities:

• Elite technical position — you set the company’s technology direction, lead major platforms, influence industry standards.
• Mentor other senior technical staff, represent the company externally, speak at major conferences, contribute to major innovations, often lead research or next‑gen technology.
• Your domain is broad: entire organisation, cross‑company, long‑term vision.
  
  Compensation (approx):
• U.S.: Median total compensation around USD $1,080,000 (base ~$353K, stock ~$667K, bonus ~$60K) in some publicly reported data.
• Base salary for top levels could reach ~$231K‑$361K or more; on‑hire stock awards as much as ~$1.2M and annual stock awards up to ~$945K+ depending on level & role.
• India/UK: Very few public benchmarks, but compensation at this level includes extremely large long‑term incentives or stock grants.
  Key Takeaways:
• This level is reserved for an elite few technical leaders; expectations are extraordinarily high in terms of technical vision, influence, innovation and cross‑company impact.
• The role is strategic rather than tactical: you're shaping the future of technology for the company (and often the industry).
• Compensation reflects that elite status — major stock awards, leadership recognition, long‑term incentives.

Summary Table

Here’s a summary of the levels, typical experience, and approximate compensation bands across major regions:

Summary

• Career path clarity: These levels show a path from entry‑level engineer through to elite technical contributor. Knowing which level you’re at (or being offered) helps you understand role expectations and compensation bands.
• Compensation growth: As you progress, base salary becomes less of the story — stock awards, bonuses and long‑term incentives grow in importance.
• Scope shifts: At early levels you focus on individual modules and learning; at senior/principal levels you’re building systems; at Partner/Distinguished levels you’re shaping platforms and influencing strategy.
• Regional & specialty variation: Pay bands vary significantly by location (cost‑of‑living), specialty (AI, infra, cloud tend to pay more), and negotiation.
• IC vs Manager track: These levels refer to the Individual Contributor (IC) track. Management tracks have different titles, expectations and compensation paths.
• Promotions matter: Moving up levels isn’t just about years of experience, but about scope, impact, autonomy, leadership, mentorship, and sometimes business metrics.
• Negotiation & offer evaluation: When considering an offer, ask what level you’re being hired at, what scope of responsibility, what compensation package (base + bonus + stock) for that level in that location and team.

You can explore interview questions for Microsoft here: https://www.hirecade.com/interview-questions/microsoft