At Mojang Studios, the creators of Minecraft, we are on a mission to build a better world through the power of play.
Why play? Well, play is at the heart of everything we do. It’s the blocky backbone of our games, the core of our development philosophy, and even the origin of our name. From the relentless experimentation of our endlessly inspiring community to the classrooms where Minecraft has become an essential teaching tool, play is the bedrock of our existence.
We enable millions to create and play together, connect people across the globe, and foster a community that is among the most active and passionate in the world. Our community is global and incredibly diverse. When we are developing anything within our franchise, we keep this in mind. We want everyone to not only feel included in Minecraft, but also to see themselves in what we make. Our goal is for the Mojang Studios team to be as diverse as our community.
We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to serve as the technical lead for Minecraft Studio’s mobile app experience. You will partner with product, design, and engineering leaders to define the technical strategy, architecture, and roadmap for products that bring Minecraft to customers in new ways. Using your expertise in iOS development and experience shipping consumer mobile applications, you will lead technical decisions and contribute directly to the design and implementation of the product.
You will guide engineers through early exploration, development, launch, and live operation while partnering with cloud service teams to deliver a coherent end-to-end experience. You will create clarity in an evolving space and establish the technical foundations needed to deliver a secure, reliable, accessible, and high-quality experience at Minecraft scale.
Responsibilities
- Define and communicate the technical vision, architecture, and engineering roadmap for Minecraft Studio’s mobile apps
- Lead the design and implementation of foundational application systems, development patterns, and customer-facing features while remaining a hands-on contributor to the codebase.
- Partner with product, design, and cloud service teams to turn customer needs into coherent end-to-end experiences and durable client-service contracts.
- Raise the engineering bar through technical mentorship, design and code reviews, thoughtful experimentation, and clear standards for quality, security, privacy, accessibility, performance, and maintainability.
- Guide the app from early exploration through launch and live operation, using telemetry, customer signals, and operational learning to improve the product and its technical foundations.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
- OR equivalent experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
- OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 12+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
- OR equivalent experience.
- 4+ years people management experience.
#mojangjobs #gamingjobs
Software 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
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent experience
- 6+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in languages including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python, or equivalent experience
- Master's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field and 8+ years of technical engineering experience, or bachelor's degree and 12+ years of experience, or equivalent experience
- 4+ years of people management experience
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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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is presented as broadly competitive overall, with clear role/level/location variation and an emphasis on using posted ranges and band information for apples-to-apples comparisons.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are described as a standout, highlighted by a strong 401(k) match structure and immediate vesting, plus additional plan features for tax-advantaged saving.
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Parental & Family Support — Family-oriented benefits are portrayed as a meaningful strength, with substantial paid parental leave and added supports like back-up care and adoption/surrogacy assistance.
Microsoft Insights
What We Do
At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.









