Software Engineer - Azure Core Compute Platform Team

Come build community, explore your passions and do your best work at Microsoft. This opportunity will allow you to bring your aspirations, talent, potential - and excitement for the journey ahead.

We’re a company of learn-it-alls rather than know-it-alls and our culture is centered around embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. Does this sound like you? Learn more about our cultural attributes.

As a Software Engineer in the Azure Compute team, you will contribute to the development of foundational cloud infrastructure powering services such as Virtual Machines, Serverless Containers, Images, Agents and Extensions, and the Compute Control Plane. Your work will directly impact areas like security patching, capacity buildouts, availability zone resiliency, billing and usage, and developer support through SDKs and Copilots.

You’ll design and implement extensible, maintainable code across distributed systems, applying deep knowledge of cloud computing, networking, storage, and Linux development. You’ll collaborate with stakeholders to define user requirements, incorporate feedback, and ensure high-quality solutions through robust testing and telemetry-driven debugging.

This role offers the opportunity to work in specialized domains such as REST APIs, partitioned and replicated services, and ML/AI development (including model fine-tuning and MCP servers). You’ll also contribute to backend performance tuning and ensure solutions meet rigorous standards for security, privacy, accessibility, and scalability.

🔗 Learn more about our products:

• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/virtual-machines
• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/container-instances
• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/image-builder
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/azure-compute-gallery
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/quotas/quotas-overview
• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/global-infrastructure/availability-zones
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/python/api/overview/azure/compute?view=azure-python

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical discipline, and proven experience coding in C++, C#, Rust, Powershell scripting, and/or Python,
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Professional and/or academic experience with VS Code, GIT, network monitoring tools, and/or debuggers.
• Professional and/or academic experience with cloud platforms, including but not limited to Azure, AWS, or GCP. 

Other Requirements: 

Ability 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:  

• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 1+ year(s) technical engineering experience with coding in C++, C#, Rust, Powershell scripting, and/or Python,
  • OR Master's Degree (or currently pursuing a degree) in Computer Science or related technical field with proven experience coding in C++, C#, Rust, Powershell scripting, and/or Python,
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Experience with one or more of the following:
  • Cloud concepts including compute, networking, storage
  • Distributed Systems
  • REST APIs
  • Partitioned and replicated services
  • Linux development
  • ML/AI development (ML models, fine tuning, MCP servers)
  • Backend debugging and performance tuning

Software Engineering IC2 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $84,200 - $165,200 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 $109,000 - $180,400 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

Microsoft will accept applications for these roles until October 31, 2025.

#azurecorejobs #EiP #IC2SWE

• Collaborates with stakeholders to break down work items into actionable tasks, estimate timelines, and escalate delays. Supports feature deployments across Azure Compute services—including Virtual Machines, Serverless Containers, and the Compute Control Plane—while considering user impact and adhering to safe deployment practices.

• Partners with team members to define feature requirements and integrate feedback into design iterations. Establishes feedback loops using customer metrics to drive continuous improvement across services like billing, usage, and availability zone resiliency.

• Applies coding standards and best practices in languages such as C#, Rust, C++, Python, and PowerShell scripting. Participates in code reviews and develops maintainable, extensible code with guidance from senior engineers.

• Utilizes debugging tools and telemetry to proactively and reactively resolve issues in backend systems. Contributes to performance tuning and reliability improvements across partitioned and replicated services.

• Supports documentation and dependency mapping for features, gaining exposure to system interactions and backend architecture. Contributes to architectural discussions and technical validation efforts, including hypothesis testing and automation integration.

• Participates in live service operations and acts as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) to monitor and restore system functionality within SLA timelines. Integrates telemetry data to analyze system behavior with a focus on performance, reliability, and safety.

• Develops and applies best practices for scalable, secure code. Understands global and local regulations, customer scaling requirements, and supports cross-team communication to enhance user experience and partner collaboration.

• Ensures compliance with security, privacy, safety, and accessibility standards. Contributes to automation in production and deployment workflows, and proactively seeks knowledge in cloud computing, distributed systems, REST APIs, Linux development, and ML/AI technologies.