As a cornerstone of Microsoft’s Substrate platform—the underlying data infrastructure for Office 365 and other cloud services—the Directory Runtime Stores team builds and maintains the storage systems that handle the runtime traffic for Microsoft’s directory services, supporting trillions of requests every day. Our systems are foundational to the reliability, scalability, and security of Microsoft’s cloud offerings.
Joining our team as a Software Engineer II means you’ll have the opportunity to:
Work on large-scale distributed systems that impact millions of users globally.
Drive innovation in storage, traffic management, and automation, including AI-powered solutions.
Collaborate with talented engineers across geographies and disciplines.
Grow your technical expertise through challenging projects, mentorship, and a culture of continuous learning.
Contribute to a team that values diversity, inclusion, and a growth mindset.
Make a real difference by helping Microsoft empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
We are committed to modernizing our technical stack and delivering world-class performance and innovation for customers around the globe.
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
Work with appropriate stakeholders to determine user requirements for a set of features, ensuring alignment with business and technical goals.
Contribute to the identification of dependencies and the development of design documents for product areas, with minimal oversight.
Contribute to the development and integration of AI-native features and solutions, leveraging AI and automation to enhance system intelligence, scalability, and user experience.
Create and implement code for products, services, or features, reusing code where applicable to drive efficiency and consistency.
Break down larger work items into smaller, manageable tasks and provide accurate estimations for completion.
Act as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI), participating in on-call rotations to monitor system, product features, or services for degradation, downtime, or interruptions, and gain approval to restore services for simple problems.
Remain current in technical skills by investing time and effort into learning new developments that improve availability, reliability, efficiency, observability, and performance of products.
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
- OR equivalent experience.
- Proficiency in one or more general-purpose programming languages (e.g., C#, Java, C++, Python, Go).
- Strong problem-solving, debugging, and analytical skills.
- Excellent communication and collaboration abilities.
- Passion for building scalable, reliable, and high-performance systems.
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.
- Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 3+ 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 5+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
- OR equivalent experience.
- Experience with distributed systems or cloud-scale services.
- Hands-on experience with agentic development workflows and AI-powered software engineering practices.
- Solid communication skills in English.
- Experience working in large, cross-functional teams.
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 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.
- Proficiency in one or more general-purpose programming languages (e.g., C#, Java, C++, Python, Go).
- Strong problem-solving, debugging, and analytical skills.
- Excellent communication and collaboration abilities.
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements and pass the Microsoft Cloud background check.
- Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree AND 5+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.
- Experience with distributed systems or cloud-scale services.
- Hands-on experience with agentic development workflows and AI-powered software engineering practices.
- Solid communication skills in English.
- Experience working in large, cross-functional teams.
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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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is presented as broadly competitive overall, with clear role/level/location variation and an emphasis on using posted ranges and band information for apples-to-apples comparisons.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are described as a standout, highlighted by a strong 401(k) match structure and immediate vesting, plus additional plan features for tax-advantaged saving.
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Parental & Family Support — Family-oriented benefits are portrayed as a meaningful strength, with substantial paid parental leave and added supports like back-up care and adoption/surrogacy assistance.
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.








