XBOX is seeking a Principal Design Engineer to shape developer and creator tools for game developers and players. Working at the intersection of design and engineering, you’ll turn ambitious ideas into functional prototypes, reusable systems, and polished product experiences that help people create, collaborate, and play.
As part of XBOX Design, you’ll partner with designers, researchers, product managers, and engineers to guide experiences from early exploration through production. This is a hands-on technical leadership role combining exceptional interaction and visual design judgment with deep front-end engineering expertise. You’ll navigate ambiguity, influence direction across teams, and explore how AI can enable new tools and experiences for creators and players.
Responsibilities
Build and ship high-quality experiences. Write and review front-end code that balances design craft with accessibility, performance, security, and maintainability. Lead design quality reviews and own design ship-readiness approval for your areas in partnership with Engineering and Product.
Make ideas tangible. Build interactive prototypes and proofs of concept to explore interaction models, test assumptions, evaluate feasibility, and inform product direction. Choose the right fidelity for each question, distinguishing exploratory code from production-ready solutions.
Shape direction and drive delivery. Partner with Design, Research, Product, and Engineering to define problems, scope work, and navigate dependencies and tradeoffs. Communicate a compelling product story, influence senior stakeholders, and deliver against shared commitments with autonomy and accountability.
Build reusable systems and tools. Evolve components, interaction patterns, tooling, and documentation that improve consistency and design-to-code workflows across teams. Connect related efforts and build on existing foundations.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship. Raise the quality of design and engineering through thoughtful reviews, shared practices, and mentorship. Influence work beyond your immediate product area while remaining hands-on.
Qualifications
Required Qualitifactions:
- Master's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Graphic Design, Product Design, Visual Design, Human Computer Interaction, or related field AND 4+ years experience working in product or service design and/or shipping production code OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Graphic Design, Product Design, Visual Design, Human Computer Interaction, or related field AND 6+ years experience working in product or service design and/or shipping production code OR 8+ years experience working in product or service design and/or shipping production code
- OR equivalent experience
- OR equivalent experience
Preferred Qualifications:
- Portfolio demonstrating hands-on design engineering contributions, design craft, and technical decision-making.
- Experience working with AI and large language models.
- Experience building games, developer tools, or tools for game creators or 3D.
- Experience contributing to or using an established design system.
- Experience with React, TypeScript, and supporting tools such as Jest, Storybook, and ESLint.
#GamingJobs
UX Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.
Skills Required
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Graphic Design, Product Design, Visual Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field and 4+ years of experience in product or service design and/or shipping production code
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Graphic Design, Product Design, Visual Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field and 6+ years of experience in product or service design and/or shipping production code
- 8+ years of experience in product or service design and/or shipping production code
- Equivalent experience may substitute for the stated education and experience requirements
- Portfolio demonstrating hands-on design engineering contributions, design craft, and technical decision-making
- Experience working with artificial intelligence and large language models
- Experience building games, developer tools, tools for game creators, or 3D tools
- Experience contributing to or using an established design system
- Experience with React, TypeScript, Jest, Storybook, and ESLint
Microsoft Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Microsoft and has not been reviewed or approved by Microsoft.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision coverage is described as comprehensive, with U.S. plans covering preventive care at 100% and limiting annual out-of-pocket costs. Mental-health counseling, employee assistance, and wellbeing resources are also emphasized.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave, family-caregiver leave, childcare assistance, and family concierge services are highlighted as core elements. These supports are presented alongside parenting and family-planning resources.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Vacation, holidays, and flexible work schedules are emphasized, with generous time-away policies noted. Leave options extend beyond standard vacation to include caregiver and parental programs.
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