Senior Software Engineer(Core Search & AI team) Senior Software Engineer(Core Search & AI team)

Search is being transformed by AI – join us to build AI-powered search experiences used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The Core Search & AI team develops and operates the foundational systems behind Search, Grounding, and Agentic Search. You will work on large-scale systems that combine web-scale retrieval, advanced ranking models, and real-time inference to deliver relevant, trustworthy, and high-quality AI experiences.

As a Software Engineer in the Core Search & AI team, you will build and operate next-generation AI infrastructure for Search, Grounding, and Agentic Search. You will develop scalable systems for distributed data pipelines and data stores,training (including SFT and RL), high-throughput inference, evaluation frameworks, and observability. You will collaborate with engineering, research, and product teams to deliver reliable, measurable, and high-performing AI solutions, and use data to guide technical decisions, investigate issues, and improve live-site quality. This opportunity will allow you to deepen your expertise in distributed AI infrastructure, gain experience with production-scale AI workloads, and expand your ownership of end-to-end service quality and operational excellence.

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.  

Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

• Define user requirements by collaborating with appropriate stakeholders. 
• Identify dependencies and produce design documents by driving the design process with minimal oversight. 
• Build, review, and maintain high‑quality, secure, and performant code by applying best practices in reliability, testability, and maintainability, and using telemetry and debugging tools to validate assumptions and prevent issues before production. 
• Drive project plans, release plans, and work items for a workgroup by leveraging subject‑matter expertise in product features and partnering with appropriate stakeholders. 
• Ensure system, product, or service reliability as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) by following the operational playbook, monitoring systems on call, alerting stakeholders, and initiating recovery actions for simple and complex issues. 
• Improve product availability, reliability, efficiency, observability, and performance by proactively learning new trends, technical solutions, and patterns and applying them to drive consistent monitoring and operations at scale.

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 high throughput, low latency distributed systems and applications at scale.
• Experience designing and building AI infrastructures including data processing, training and inference systems.
• Experience optimizing model serving workloads for performance and efficiency.
• Experience with machine learning fundamentals.

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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.