Overview/Job Description
Microsoft is committed to building Azure into an AI supercomputer for the world and to enable the use of this infrastructure to responsibly develop breakthrough foundational AI, including large language models (LLMs) that can empower people to better harness the world’s knowledge, revolutionize the way we interact with technology and improve user experience.
To foster Microsoft’s leadership in this field, we have launched a transformative program to develop the next generation of leaders in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Based at the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA, and at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, in Cambridge, MA, the Microsoft AI Development Acceleration Program (MAIDAP), which is part of the Office of the CTO, recruits motivated individuals from Bachelors (BS), Masters (MS), Masters of Business (MBA) and Doctorate programs to join a two-year journey solving some of Microsoft’s most complex AI challenges. MAIDAP collaborates closely with engineering teams across the company to drive innovation and deliver real-world impact.
We are seeking a Senior Software Engineering Manager to help shape the future of Microsoft’s AI talent and build transformative, AI-powered experiences for our customers.
In this role, you’ll guide our efforts by leading a team of early in profession software engineers, working with our partners to identify and build strategic examples of AI innovation, and delivering a framework for integration of our modules into Microsoft’s AI Platform. As a Senior Software Engineering Manager on our team, you will shape our program’s development lifecycle, establish engineering best practices, and play a key role in hiring and nurturing a diverse, collaborative and effective team.
We embrace a culture which is customer focused, collaborative, fun loving and iterative—one that delivers continuously and drives engineering excellence. If you are a software engineer who is passionate about developing people and looking to have a huge impact at Microsoft in AI, this could be your ideal role.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
Technical Oversight: Provide hands-on technical guidance, review designs, code implementation and Pull Requests (PRs), define Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)/data contracts, architect scalable systems, and establish evaluation frameworks to de-risk complex systems.
Recruit and lead a group of new-to-career software engineers focused on advancing Microsoft’s AI capabilities by working on projects sourced from product teams across the company.
Partner with multiple engineering and business partners across the company to ensure that the solutions meet their business goals and can be successfully integrated into their codebase.
Create an inclusive work environment where every employee can effectively engage and wants to be part of the team. Provide ongoing feedback that helps your direct reports improve their performance.
AI Strategy & Architecture: Set direction for AI-native security experiences and platform components, LLMs vs classical Machine Learning (ML), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) design, grounding, model routing/fallbacks, and safety guardrails to meet customer outcomes and Service Level Objectives (SLOs).
Responsible AI & Compliance: Ensure privacy, security, and Responsible AI guardrails are considered from day one. Coordinate safety reviews, abuse prevention, compliance, and incident readiness.
Architect the framework for abstraction and reuse of our AI modules for integration into the AI platform, choose the appropriate internal or external technologies, incorporate research, create design and validation collateral, including test automations that are reused across the program.
Work closely with other members of the Office of the CTO to support strategic programs.
Qualifications
Qualifications
Required/minimum 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.
Additional or 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.
3+ years of experience as a technical lead, including mentoring and growing early-in-career software engineers
3+ years of experience with cloud architectures
2+ years of experience in building AI or data science platforms
2+ years of Azure experience
Experience consuming and contributing to open-source software projects
Experience working with distributed teams
Experience with evaluating, fine-tuning and deploying LLM and more traditional machine learning solutions
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.
Software Engineering M4 - 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 $160,200 - $261,000 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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field, plus 4+ years of technical engineering experience involving coding
- Equivalent experience may substitute for the bachelor's degree and experience requirement
- Coding experience in C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, or comparable languages
- Ability to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter
- Master's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field plus 6+ years of technical engineering experience
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field plus 8+ years of technical engineering experience
- 3+ years of experience as a technical lead mentoring and developing early-career software engineers
- 3+ years of experience with cloud architectures
- 2+ years of experience building AI or data science platforms
- 2+ years of Microsoft Azure experience
- Experience consuming and contributing to open-source software projects
- Experience working with distributed teams
- Experience evaluating, fine-tuning, and deploying LLM and traditional machine learning solutions
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements
Microsoft Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Microsoft and has not been reviewed or approved by Microsoft.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as comprehensive, with preventive care coverage, vision options, and annual out-of-pocket limits. Feedback suggests medical, mental-health, and disability support are a major strength of the package.
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Parental & Family Support — Family support is expansive, including parental leave, family caregiver leave, child-care assistance, family concierge services, fertility options, and college-advising support for eligible employees. Feedback suggests these benefits meaningfully ease caregiving and family planning demands.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellbeing resources include counseling and employee-assistance services, wellness reimbursements, product discounts, and charitable-matching programs. Feedback suggests these extras complement core benefits and support day-to-day quality of life.
Microsoft Insights
What We Do
At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.
