Overview
The Content Services Verticals team is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to drive the development of next-generation systems for Microsoft Start. This role offers the opportunity to collaborate across teams within Start, as well as with Edge, Windows, Xbox, Bing, and other divisions, to build scalable and high-performance backend services that power user-facing experiences. In addition to distributed backend engineering, this role emphasizes expertise in building applications using large language models (LLMs), designing evaluation frameworks, and advancing prompt engineering to create intelligent, adaptive, and reliable user experiences.
As a Senior Engineer, you will design, implement, and optimize services, APIs, and infrastructure to support the evolving needs of our platform. You’ll work closely with cross-functional teams—including product managers, applied scientists, and frontend developers—to ensure seamless integration and exceptional performance. From system architecture and data modeling to LLM-powered service design, eval writing, and deployment automation, you will play a key role in shaping the technical roadmap. This role requires a highly proactive mindset: taking initiative, working in agile environments, and driving innovation end-to-end to deliver scalable, maintainable, and forward-looking solutions.
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.
Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.
Responsibilities
- Ship high-quality, well-tested, secure, and maintainable code.
- Develop and maintain robust, scalable, and efficient full-stack applications.
- Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product owners, designers, and other engineers, to understand and address business requirements effectively.
- Participate in code reviews, providing constructive feedback and ensuring code quality and adherence to coding standards.
- Contribute ideas for continuous improvement of the tech stack, tools, and development processes.
- Ensure seamless integration of front-end and back-end components, focusing on optimal performance and user satisfaction.
- Work within a world-class engineering team comprising engineers, architects, scientists, and leadership.
- Contribute to a positive and innovative team culture.
- Work closely with the leadership and product owner to help address business needs while maintaining engineering standards and paying down technical debt.
- Experiment with and recommend new technologies that simplify or improve our stack.
- Build and integrate applications leveraging LLMs, with a solid focus on quality, performance, and reliability.
- Develop and maintain evals and evaluation frameworks to measure model performance and ensure high-quality outputs.
- Apply prompt engineering techniques to refine and optimize LLM-driven user experiences.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 4+ 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 6+ 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 8+ 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 experience with designing, building, and maintaining complex backend systems
4+ years experience in developing and optimizing RESTful APIs and microservices. Proven ability to create and maintain efficient, reliable backend services.
#MicrosoftAI
Software Engineering IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $158,400 - $258,000 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.**