Ali Niknejad
Principal Engineering Manager at Microsoft
- Role
- Principal Software Engineering Manager at Microsoft
- Location
- Redmond, WA, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Ali Niknejad
I\'m a Principal Software Engineering Manager at Microsoft with a track record of delivering large-scale, enterprise-grade infrastructure and shaping AI-powered user experiences. I thrive at the intersection of product, engineering, and strateg, leading high-performing teams to solve complex problems that matter.Recently, I led the Places Directory team from inception to General Availability as part of Microsoft Places, building the core system that enables hybrid workplace experiences across M365. I’ve scaled systems to serve billions of requests monthly, improved reliability from 97% to 99.9%, and helped lay the foundation for a product forecasted to generate $100M+ in revenue.Now focused on Microsoft Copilot for Calendar, I’m driving innovation around time queries and shaping how personalized memory and semantic retrieval enhance everyday productivity.I lead with empathy, empower teams to grow through ownership and autonomy, and maintain a high-performance bar balanced with well-being and inclusion.Let’s connect if you\'re interested in engineering leadership, distributed systems, or building meaningful AI experiences at scale.
Experience
Principal Software Engineering Manager
Sep 2022 — Present · Redmond, WA, US
Education
Islamic Azad University
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), Software Engineering
2002 — 2005
Coventry University
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Computing
2010 — 2014
Sharif University of Technology
Master of Science (MSc), Artificial Intelligence
2007 — 2009
Iran University of Science and Technology
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), Applied Mathematics
2002 — 2007
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