Overview
The IDEAS organization’s mission is to unlock the power of data to deliver actionable insights and personalized experiences at scale. Our work supports Microsoft 365, Azure, Windows, and other platforms by enabling reliable, secure, and compliant data services. As part of this team, you will collaborate with partners across the company—including product engineering, data science, and operations—to solve complex problems using modern data platforms, cloud analytics, and AI-assisted tooling.
As a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE), you will focus on automation, incident response, and data-driven reliability improvements for services operating in regulated government cloud environments. You will contribute to live site operations, partner closely with engineering teams, and help evolve systems to operate reliably and at scale.
Why IDEAS?
Joining IDEAS means contributing to how Microsoft uses data to deliver reliable, secure, and impactful services. You will work on meaningful systems, collaborate with diverse teams, and help shape platforms that serve customers at global scale. If you are motivated by improving reliability through engineering, data, and collaboration, we encourage you to apply.
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.
Responsibilities
- Participate as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) in a 24x7 on-call rotation, monitoring service health, responding to incidents within defined SLAs, and contributing to post-incident reviews and learning.
- Design, build, and maintain automation for deployment, operations, and incident mitigation to improve reliability and reduce manual effort.
- Instrument services for observability; collect and analyze telemetry and health signals; and use data to guide reliability and performance improvements.
- Collaborate with engineering partners and stakeholders to align on goals, share operational insights, and deliver user-focused solutions.
- Apply engineering best practices for development, scaling, and operational excellence to meet performance and customer requirements.
- Support compliance with security, privacy, and accessibility requirements throughout service onboarding and ongoing operations.
- Continuously learn and adopt industry practices and internal tools to improve reliability, performance, and observability.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 1+ year(s) technical experience in software engineering, network engineering, or systems administration
- OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 2+ years technical experience in software engineering, network engineering, or systems administration
- OR equivalent experience.
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
- OR equivalent experience.
- Experience with automation, live site operations, and incident response in large-scale cloud or distributed systems.
- Proficiency in at least one programming or scripting language (for example: C#, Java, Python, or PowerShell).
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including experience using telemetry and operational data to inform decisions.
- Effective written and verbal communication skills, and experience collaborating across teams and disciplines.
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire and periodically thereafter.
**Other Requirements: **
Security Clearance Requirements: Candidates must be able to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:
- The successful candidate must have an active U.S. Government Secret Security Clearance. Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. Failure to maintain or obtain the appropriate clearance and/or customer screening requirements may result in employment action up to and including termination.
- Clearance Verification: This position requires successful verification of the stated security clearance to meet federal government customer requirements. You will be asked to provide clearance verification information prior to an offer of employment.
Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This position requires verification of U.S. citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local United States government agency customer and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport, or other approved documents, or verified US government Clearance
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, with a minimum of 4 years of experience in Site Reliability Engineering or a closely related role.
- Experience with observability and monitoring systems, including MELT (Metrics, Events, Logs, and Traces) practices.
- Experience automating aspects of incident diagnosis, root cause analysis, or mitigation.
- Familiarity with compliance processes and standards in cloud or regulated environments.
#DPG, #IDEAS
Site Reliability Engineering IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $100,600 - $199,000 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 $131,400 - $215,400 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.**