Job Description

Overview

Join the Azure AI Platform air-gapped engineering team as a Software Engineer II and help bring advanced AI capabilities to some of Microsoft’s most security-sensitive customers. Our team delivers Azure OpenAI, Microsoft Foundry, Azure Machine Learning, and Azure AI Services in sovereign and air-gapped cloud environments, enabling mission-critical government workloads through secure, reliable AI infrastructure.

In this role, you will tackle engineering challenges at the intersection of AI, distributed systems, and cloud infrastructure. You will design and build services, develop automation for deploying and operating AI capabilities, and solve complex problems alongside engineers across Azure. Your work will span the development lifecycle—from early design and prototyping to deployment and production operation—with opportunities to take ownership of meaningful improvements and see their impact firsthand.

We are looking for curious, collaborative engineers who enjoy building software, learning new technologies, and turning complex problems into practical solutions. You will deepen your expertise in cloud services and AI infrastructure while helping shape how our team builds, ships, and operates its platform. We value engineering craftsmanship, customer-focused problem solving, and continuous learning, including thoughtful use of AI-assisted tools to improve how we work.

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.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain software features and service components that support Azure AI capabilities in air-gapped and sovereign cloud environments.
• Develop automation for model and service deployment, release validation, and monitoring to improve delivery speed, reliability, and engineering efficiency.
• Collaborate with engineers across Azure AI to integrate new capabilities and resolve service dependencies, including challenges involving networking, identity, and cloud infrastructure.
• Take ownership of scoped features and improvements from design through testing and deployment, incorporating technical guidance and design feedback from teammates and delivering secure, maintainable, well-tested code.
• Improve service observability and participate in on-call rotations, using telemetry and debugging tools to investigate issues, implement lasting fixes, and engage other service owners when needed.
• Use approved AI-assisted development tools, including GitHub Copilot, to support prototyping, coding, testing, and debugging while maintaining security and engineering quality.
• Incorporate customer and partner feedback into engineering improvements, and contribute to design discussions, code reviews, and technical documentation to share knowledge and improve team practices.
• Embody Microsoft’s culture and values., contributing to an inclusive team that values curiosity, collaboration, and continuous learning.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 2+ 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:

Security Clearance Requirements: Candidates must be able 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:

• The successful candidate must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret Clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) based on a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) with Polygraph. Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required pre-offer and post-hire for this role. Failure to maintain or obtain the appropriate U.S. Government clearance and/or customer screening requirements may result in employment action up to and including termination.
• Clearance Verification: This position requires successful verification of the stated security clearance to meet federal government customer requirements. You will be asked to provide clearance verification information prior to an offer of employment.
• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
• Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This position requires verification of U.S. citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local United States government agency customer and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport, or other approved documents, or verified US government Clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing backend services, APIs, or automation using C#, Python, or another general-purpose programming language.
• Experience building, deploying, or supporting applications on cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud, or in comparable distributed systems environments.
• Familiarity with container technologies and orchestration platforms, such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, or tooling that improves software development and deployment workflows.
• Experience troubleshooting software or service issues using logs, telemetry, and debugging tools to identify root causes and implement fixes.
• Demonstrated ability to learn unfamiliar technologies and codebases, collaborate with other engineers, and communicate technical decisions through code reviews and documentation.

Software Engineering IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $102,100 - $202,200 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 $133,800 - $219,200 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.

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.