Software Engineer II

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Imagine being part of the team that has delivered system initialization technologies that execute on more than a billion Windows-based system every time they are powered-on. The Secure Platform Foundation team is seeking a talented, highly motivated software engineer to drive innovations in this critical space. We’re looking for an enthusiastic candidate who can learn quickly, has strong design skills, broad interests, and isn’t afraid to dive into new or unfamiliar technologies. Our code operates at the intersection of hardware initialization and system software, specializing in foundational technologies that govern security throughout firmware and pre-kernel execution logic. You’ll ensure every device starts with a robust, tamper-resistant foundation, from the first instruction executed at power-on through handoff to the operating system. The team’s work also extends beyond traditional hardware to include enabling scalable cloud infrastructure, such as secure and efficient virtual machine provisioning in Azure, and pioneering techniques like rapid system updates with minimal downtime through advanced servicing technologies. Positioned at the critical boundary between silicon and software, this role offers exciting opportunities to influence system security, reliability, and performance across diverse platforms. As a Software Engineer II on our team, you will help drive innovations that will shape the foundational future of platform security for the Windows Operating System.

In Core OS, we are responsible for the Operating Systems that power Azure, Microsoft's Linux OS, the platforms for Windows Client, Xbox, and our Windows Server ecosystem – through all of these, we support every one of our cloud businesses and billions of customers around the world. In this era of ubiquitous computing, systems software excellence has never been more important for Microsoft. High quality, high-efficiency operating systems and platform components underpin everything we do as a company, from making our systems more reliable for our customers, to increasing our competitiveness by reducing COGS, to delivering new features and capabilities to delight customers – that’s all us!

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.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 2+ years technical engineering experience with coding in C/C++
  • OR equivalent experience.
• 1+ year experience with multithreaded programming, operating systems, device drivers and/or firmware.

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 4+ years technical engineering experience with coding in C, C++, Assembly (x86/ARM), Rust
  • OR Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 2+ years technical engineering experience with coding in C, C++, Assembly (x86/ARM), Rust
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Experience with Git for source code management
• Background in hardware architecture internals.
• Familiarity with hardware and software debugging

Software 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.

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until July 11, 2025.

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

#CoreOS

• Works with appropriate stakeholders to determine user requirements for a set of features.
• Contributes to the identification of dependencies, and the development of design documents for a product area with little oversight.
• Creates and implements code for a product, service, or feature, reusing code as applicable.
• Collaborates with a dynamic team of engineers, including mentoring other engineers in the workgroup.
• Drives for quality in everything and continuously seeks to improve the systems relied upon.
• Contributes to efforts to break down larger work items into smaller work items and provides estimation.
• Remains current in skills by investing time and effort into staying abreast of current developments that will improve the availability, reliability, efficiency, observability, and performance of products while also driving consistency in monitoring and operations at scale.