Software Engineering IC5

• Design & develop prompting techniques for emotional and intellectual use cases
• Establish frameworks for AI companions to navigate complex social and ethical situations with nuance and care
• Create evaluations to measure both technical/practical performance and non-deterministic performance like EQ
• Teach others prompting techniques and ways-of-working to elevate the prompting skill throughout the team
• Research & implement novel prompting techniques
• Embody our culture and values.

• Chain-of-thought experience: prompting techniques that guide AI systems through reasoning processes
• A novel prompting discovery: a really interesting challenge that you've solved in a creative way
• Scaled implementation: you've shipping prompted systems that work reliably at production scale with diverse user populations
• Evaluation design: you've built robust testing frameworks to measure AI behavior against goals
• User-centric approach: proven understanding of how prompting decisions impact the lived experience of people who interact with AI
• A wonderful writer who loves words, storytelling, or linguistics.
• Effective written communication skills: able to convey complex information clearly, concisely, and effectively for various audiences
• Comfort with ambiguity in an exponentially growing space

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., * 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., * 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.

• 2+ years of experience with large language models
• 2+ years of experience working as a prompt engineer or similar field
• A non-traditional background: philosophy, linguistics, psychology, therapy, or literature.
• An understanding of conversation design or product design.
• Familiarity with both quantitative metrics and qualitative assessment methods.
• Experience with personalization systems that adapt to individual user needs.
• Adversarial prompting experience or conducted some unhinged experiments.
• Ethical experience with demonstrated social impact.

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 $158,400 - $258,000 per year.

Microsoft is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We develop, license, and support a wide range of software products, services, and devices that help individuals and businesses realize their full potential.

Our flagship products include the Microsoft 365 productivity cloud, Windows operating system, Azure cloud platform, and Dynamics 365 business applications. We are also a leader in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, developer tools, and gaming through Xbox and Game Pass.

With operations in more than 190 countries and over 220,000 employees worldwide, Microsoft is committed to responsible innovation, inclusive economic growth, and sustainability. We work closely with governments, industries, and communities to ensure that technology serves the public good and helps address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

As we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2025, we continue to look forward—investing in AI, cloud, and quantum computing to shape the future of work, education, and society at large scale.