Software Engineer II

We are building a planet-scale multi-modal database from the ground up. You will be part of the team that is reimagining the databases in the era of Large Language Models (LLMs) by deeply integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into all parts of the stack. 

As a Software Engineer II, you will lead and collaborate with a team of passionate engineers, driving ideas to impactful results in a fast-paced environment. You will be working on building and using system-level software (e.g., distributed systems, operating systems, databases, networking, etc.). You are experienced in software engineering from ideation and architecture design, to writing high-quality code, to shipping. 

Successful engineers in our team have problem solving, design, coding and debugging skills, drive for execution and results, rigor in delivering quality software and a desire for continuous learning. Our team values a friendly, collaborative atmosphere with a passion for technology, and we believe that a diverse team with diverse perspectives that applies empathy and uses great communication skills helps deliver superior products and is key to success.  This is a great opportunity to challenge yourself, grow your career, and influence the next generation of computing at Microsoft.

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.

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Responsibilities

• This will be an individual contributor role with the majority of time focused on coding responsibilities. 
• Collaborates with appropriate stakeholders to determine user requirements for a scenario. 
• Drives identification of dependencies and the development of design documents for a product, application, service, or platform. 
• Creates, implements, optimizes, debugs, refactors, and reuses code to establish and improve performance and maintainability, effectiveness, and return on investment (ROI). 
• Leverages subject-matter expertise of product features and partners with appropriate stakeholders (e.g., project managers) to drive a workgroup's project plans, release plans, and work items. 
• Acts as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) and guides other engineers by developing and following the playbook, working on call to monitor system/product/service for degradation, downtime, or interruptions, alerting stakeholders about status and initiates actions to restore system/product/service for simple and complex problems when appropriate. 
• Proactively seeks new knowledge and adapts to new trends, technical solutions, and patterns that will improve the availability, reliability, efficiency, observability, and performance of products while also driving consistency in monitoring and operations at scale.
• Embody our culture and values.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 2+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python  
• 1+ year(s) experience with cloud technologies, including, but not limited to Azure, AWS, Google Cloud.
• Currently programming/coding in your current or most recent role.
• Hands on experience with asynchronous programming and concurrency (threads, tasks, futures, async/await).
• OR equivalent experience.

Preferred 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 
• Familiarity with graph-based indexing and vector similarity search in high-dimensional spaces. 
• Contributions to open-source projects or published research in the areas of ANN (Approximate Nearest Neighbor) search or database systems.
• Experience in systems-level software engineering with a focus on database internals, including query execution, indexing, and storage engine design.
• Understanding of vector indexing techniques, particularly DiskANN (Disk-based Approximate Nearest Neighbor) and SPANN (Scalable Product Approximate Nearest Neighbor), with hands-on experience implementing or optimizing these algorithms in production environments.
• Proficiency in performance tuning and latency-sensitive system design, especially in large-scale distributed data platforms.
• Experience with Helm.
• Experience in shipping products and services.
• OR Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 2+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python 
• OR equivalent experience.

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.

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 the role until October 13, 2025.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.