Microsoft

Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Systems

Microsoft • $119K — $234K *
Redmond, WA 98052In-Person
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Today
Be an Early Applicant
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field with 4+ years of engineering experience in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python.
  • Master's Degree in a relevant field with 6+ years of experience OR Bachelor's Degree and 8+ years of experience.
  • Experience in building high-traffic, consumer-facing platforms like events or streaming services.
  • Proven track record in architecting systems for high-concurrency traffic and global distribution.
  • Strong background in distributed data stores and event-driven architectures.
  • Demonstrated technical leadership and mentorship skills across teams.
  • Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (preferably Microsoft Azure) and modern development practices.

Responsibilities

  • Architect and operate scalable applications for Microsoft flagship events.
  • Design systems to handle unpredictable traffic spikes without degradation.
  • Ensure end-to-end reliability with clear availability targets and incident response plans.
  • Integrate security and privacy measures into all systems and services.
  • Enhance engineering quality through design reviews and automated testing.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop resilient technical solutions.
  • Provide mentorship and technical leadership to the engineering team.
  • Evaluate and advocate for emerging technologies that improve performance and scalability.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health coverage including medical, dental, and vision plans.
  • Generous paid time off policy including vacation and parental leave.
  • Retirement savings plan with company match options.
  • Employee discounts and wellness programs.
  • Opportunities for continuing education and professional development.
Full Job Description
Overview

This is a high-ownership, hands-on role for a builder who runs toward the hard problems. You will design distributed systems that stay rock-solid from quiet planning cycles to the instant registration opens or a keynote goes live and traffic explodes. You will set the technical direction for scale, reliability, performance, and security across the platform, mentor engineers, and stay close enough to the code to lead from the front. When the event date cannot move, you are the person who makes sure the technology is ready.

And you bring energy to all of it. You are self-motivated and take ownership without being asked, and immovable event dates energize you rather than intimidate you. You sweat the details, because at event scale a single overlooked edge case is visible to millions of people at once. Most of all, you are driven to build systems that are scalable, reliable, and secure by default, and you hold yourself and your team to that bar every single day.

Responsibilities
  • Architect, build, and operate scalable, distributed applications and services that power Microsoft's flagship events, including Microsoft Ignite and Microsoft Build.
  • Design for extreme elasticity so the platform absorbs large, unpredictable spikes in demand - registration openings, live keynotes, and session go-lives - without degrading the attendee experience.
  • Own reliability end to end: set availability targets, build in redundancy and graceful degradation, and lead incident response so critical event moments never fail.
  • Engineer security and privacy in by default, protecting attendee data and meeting Microsoft's compliance and trust standards across every service.
  • Raise the bar on engineering quality through rigorous design reviews, automated testing, deep observability, and safe, continuous deployment.
  • Partner with product managers, event producers, and cross-functional teams to turn event requirements into resilient technical solutions.
  • Provide technical leadership and mentorship, setting direction, guiding architecture, and growing the skills of the engineering team.
  • Evaluate emerging technologies and patterns, and champion improvements that increase scale, reliability, and engineering velocity.


Qualifications

Required 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.


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.
  • Experience building event, media, streaming, or other high-traffic, consumer-facing platforms.
  • Experience architecting systems that handle sudden, high-concurrency traffic and global distribution.
  • Depth in distributed data stores, caching, messaging and event-driven architectures, and performance tuning.
  • A record of technical leadership, mentorship, and influence across teams and disciplines.
  • Demonstrated experience designing and delivering large-scale, distributed, cloud-based applications and services.
  • Proven ability to build systems that are scalable, reliable, and secure, and to operate them in production at high scale.
  • Hands-on experience with a major cloud platform (Microsoft Azure preferred) and modern practices such as microservices, containers, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code.
  • Exceptional problem-solving skills and a track record of technical ownership from design through production operations.


Software Engineering IC4 - 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.

About Microsoft

Microsoft is an American multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services. Microsoft’s devices and consumer (D&C) licensing segment licenses the Windows operating system and related software, Microsoft Office for consumers, and the Windows Phone operating system. The company’s computing and gaming hardware segment provides Xbox gaming and entertainment consoles and accessories, second-party and third-party video games, and Xbox Live subscriptions; surface devices and accessories; and Microsoft PC accessories. Its phone hardware segment offers Lumia smartphones and other non-Lumia phones. Its D&C segment provides Windows Store, Xbox Live transactions, and Windows phone store; search advertising; display advertising; Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal; first-party video games; and other consumer products and services as well as operating retail stores. Microsoft’s commercial licensing segments license server products, including Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Windows Embedded; Windows operating system; Microsoft Office for business, including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, and related CALs; Microsoft Dynamics business solutions; and Skype. Its commercial segment offers enterprise services, including premier support services and Microsoft consulting services; commercial cloud comprising Office 365 Commercial, other Microsoft Office online offerings, Dynamics CRM Online, and Microsoft Azure; and other commercial products and online services. The company markets and distributes its products through original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and resellers, as well as online.

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Learn more about Microsoft
Size
181,000 employees
Market Cap
$1,762.4 billion
Industry
Enterprise Technology
Net Income
$51.3 billion
Founded
1975
5 Year Trend
+15.5%
Revenue
$153.2 billion
NASDAQ
MSFT
* Ladders Estimates

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