Software Engineer II

About the Team

The Sovereign Cloud team at M365 Core IDC is driving innovation in cloud infrastructure standardization, enabling secure, compliant, and scalable cloud solutions for regulated markets. Our mission is to deliver rapid, reliable, and standardized cloud buildouts, streamline deployment practices, and optimize runtime operations for Sovereign Clouds. As a software engineer on the Sovereign Cloud team, you'll have the opportunity to work on modernizing cloud buildouts and deployments at unprecedented scale, contribute to the evolution of standardized release platforms and compliance solutions, and develop AI- powered platform experiences that simplify complex operations. You'll collaborate with global teams across Azure, M365, and Enterprise Cloud, impacting foundational cloud services, and engage in continuous learning through knowledge sessions and hands-on experience.

  As a Software Engineer II contributes to processes for the architecture of a product/solution feature and helps to create proposals for architecture by testing design hypotheses and helping to refine code plans, with technical leadership from others. Helps to identify other teams and technologies that will be leveraged, how they will interact, and when one's system may provide support to others. Supports efforts to apply debugging tools and examines logs, telemetry, and other methods to verify assumptions proactively before issues occur and reactively as issues occur for product features. Participates in code reviews to ensure coding standards are followed. Conducts and creates experimentation to determine the effectiveness of changes for prototyping and testing features, and applies findings back into development. Maintains operations of live service as issues arise on a rotational, on-call basis. Alerts stakeholders as to the status and gains approval to restore system/product/service for simple problems. Responds within Service Level Agreement timeframe. Contributes to the development of automation within production and deployment of a complex product feature. Considers partners across teams and their end goals for products to drive and achieve desirable user experiences and fitting the dynamic needs of partners/customers through product development.

Agility: Ability to think, understand, and process information quickly.

Algorithm Design and Implementation: The ability to design, analyze, implement, optimize, profile and experimentally evaluate computer algorithms. Includes knowledge of practical applications of algorithms in software engineering.

Computer Science: The ability to apply computer science principles (e.g., data structures, algorithms, run-times), statistics and computer architecture to implement, adapt, or apply concepts when programming.

Detail Oriented: The ability to attend to and verify the accuracy and completeness of detailed information in documents, on the computer, and/or in other work products. This includes being able to code, file, compile, transcribe, classify, and/or track details from a variety of different sources/problems/issues.

Engineering Lifecycle: Knowledge of the engineering lifecycle that provides for task estimation, design and code review, specification review, bug triage, code check-in, sign-off, test targeting, and performance standards to meet customer and business goals.

English Language Proficiency: The ability to speak and understand English when giving instructions and directions, and when talking with colleagues, managers, and others for work matters.

Oral Communication: The ability to make a verbal message understood and to receive/understand messages during in-person or remote (e.g., telephone) interactions.

Problem Solving: The ability to identify problems and review related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Software Development: Knowledge of the software development process, including conception, specification, design, programming, documentation, testing, and bug fixing to create and maintain applications, frameworks, or other software components.

Writes Code: The ability to write clear and efficient code in one or more relevant computer programming languages (e.g., Java, C/C++, Python, JavaScript) to develop computer programs that solve a business problem.

Written Communication: The ability to prepare clear, accurate, and understandable written text, and follow the basic rules of spelling, grammar, and punctuation. This may include memos, emails, proposals, reports, and professional or general correspondence.

• Coding: Creates and implements code for a product, service, or feature, reusing code as applicable. Writes and learns to create code that is extensible and maintainable. Considers diagnosability, reliability, and maintainability with few defects, and understands when the code is ready to be shared and delivered. Applies coding patterns and best practices to write code. Supports efforts to apply debugging tools and examines logs, telemetry, and other methods to verify assumptions proactively before issues occur and reactively as issues occur for product features. Conducts retrospective debugging of solutions to identify root causes of problems. Reviews code of a product feature to assure it meets the team's and Microsoft's quality standards, is reliable and accurate and is appropriate for the scale of the product feature. Applies feedback to current and future iterations. Participates in code reviews to ensure coding standards are followed. Considers diagnosability, reliability, and maintainability when reviewing code and understands when code is ready to be shared or delivered.
• Design: Creates a clear and articulated plan for testing and assuring quality of solutions, and defines success for outcomes of tests (e.g., unit tests). Adds new tests, removes antiquated tests, and aggregates tests to improve tests in the feature area. Helps to drive efforts for augmenting test cases and ensures that the solution area has good test coverage. Helps to integrate automation features when planning for testing.
• Engineering Excellence: Builds knowledge, shares new ideas, and shares pinpoints of engineering tool gaps to improve software developer tools to support other programs, tools, and applications to create, debug, and maintain code for complex product features. Uses open source when possible. Develops higher-level awareness of other kinds of tools outside areas of expertise. Helps to identify internal tools and creates tools that will be useful for creating the product, determining if methods are still applicable for the current solution. Contributes to the development of automation within production and deployment of a complex product feature. Runs code in simulated, or other non-production environments to confirm functionality and error-free runtime for products with little to no oversight.
• Implement: Conducts and creates experimentation to determine the effectiveness of changes for prototyping and testing features, and applies findings back into development. Reviews work items to deepen knowledge of product features in partnership with appropriate stakeholders (e.g., project managers) and executes project plans, release plans, and work items. Contributes to efforts to break down larger work items into smaller work items and provides estimation. Escalates any issues that would cause a delay.
• Reliability and Supportability: Acts as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) working on call to monitor system/product feature/service for degradation, downtime, or interruptions. Alerts stakeholders as to the status and gains approval to restore system/product/service for simple problems. Responds within Service Level Agreement (SLA) timeframe. Escalates issues to appropriate owners. Identifies areas to efforts to integrate instrumentation for gathering telemetry data on system behavior such as performance, reliability, availability, usage, and safety mechanisms. Contributes to sustaining feedback loops from telemetry resulting in subsequent designs. Helps to create outputs of telemetry such as notifications or dashboards.
• Understand User Requirements: Works with appropriate stakeholders (e.g., project manager, technical lead) to determine user requirements for a set of features. Begins to leverage a variety of feedback channels to incorporate insights into future designs or solution fixes. Incorporates appropriate continuous feedback loops measuring customer value, usage patterns, and other actionable metrics of value.

Required Qualifications:

• 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.

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:

• Master'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 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.

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.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. 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.

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