Sr. Software Engineer - Distributed Systems

• Drives requirements and design by partnering with stakeholders (e.g., program managers, technical leads, architects) to define and refine requirements for messaging system features. Proactively leverages telemetry, customer feedback channels, and usage patterns to inform architectural decisions and shape the product roadmap. Establishes continuous feedback loops that measure customer value, reliability metrics, and operational health to guide future design iterations.

• Owns design and implementation of highly available, distributed messaging components in the cloud. Architects extensible, maintainable solutions that prioritize diagnosability, reliability, and resilience at scale. Champions coding best practices, design patterns, and reusable frameworks across the team. Ensures code is production-ready with minimal defects and mentors other engineers on code quality standards through hands-on guidance and thorough code reviews.

• Defines the test strategy for messaging system components, establishing clear quality gates and success criteria across unit, integration, and end-to-end tests. Drives test coverage improvements, removes obsolete tests, and identifies gaps in the testing framework. Leads efforts to integrate automation into CI/CD pipelines, ensuring that messaging reliability and performance are continuously validated under realistic workloads.

• Elevates engineering productivity by identifying tooling gaps in the development lifecycle for cloud messaging systems. Designs and builds internal tools, frameworks, and libraries that accelerate development, debugging, and operational workflows. Evaluates and advocates for open-source solutions where appropriate. Mentors the team on adopting modern tooling practices and fosters a culture of continuous improvement in developer experience.

• Leads incident response and operational excellence as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI), monitoring messaging systems for degradation, downtime, or service interruptions. Drives rapid root-cause analysis and resolution for complex distributed systems issues, coordinates with cross-functional teams, and communicates status to stakeholders. Ensures response within SLA timeframes, authors post-incident reviews, and drives systemic improvements to prevent recurrence.

• Embody our culture (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/culture) and values (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about/corporate-values)

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 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/Additional 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#/.NET or equivalent backend languages 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#/.NET or equivalent backend languages.

• Proven experience designing and delivering large scale backend or distributed systems

• Experience leading technical design for services or platforms

• Experience designing, implementing, deploying, and operating scalable cloud services

• Track record of owning critical systems with high reliability and operational excellence

• Experience collaborating across engineering, product, and operations teams

• Proficiency in C#, Java, Go, or similar backend languages

• Deep understanding of distributed systems, service reliability, and performance optimization

#azdat #azuredata #pubsub #azureeventgrid #eventgrid #messaging

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.

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