Senior Software Engineer
Microsoft
Software Engineering
Shanghai, China · China · Jiangsu, China · Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Microsoft 365 (M365) is at the center of Microsoft’s cloud first, devices first strategy as it brings together cloud versions of our most trusted communications and collaboration products such as Teams, Exchange, SharePoint, Yammer, and Office with the latest version of our desktop suite and mobile apps. Our customers depend on our services to run their organizations, whether that is a Fortune 500 company, a small business, a non-profit, or an educational institution.
The Workload Management (WLM) team under M365 is responsible for managing execution of millions of background and system tasks for M365 backend servers. We are applying various technologies to maximize resource utilization while keeping the giant system running in a stable and efficient way. We are driving continuous improvement towards integrated and intelligent automated operations.
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
- Help build integrated solutions to protect M365 system from disruptive outage/crisis.
- Develop and implement best practices for resource utilization and backend server management.
- Work hands-on with the team and team clients through design and implementation, maintain communication with key partners across the Microsoft ecosystem of engineers.
- Take responsibility for technical problem solving, including creatively meeting product objectives and developing best practices.
- Continuously learn about evolving hardware and workload scenarios to inform optimization strategies.
- Contribute to a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within the team and across the organization.
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.
- Proficiency in one or more programming languages such as C#, C++, Java, or similar, with solid software design and engineering fundamentals.
- Experience developing and operating large-scale distributed systems, including debugging, performance tuning, and reliability improvements.
- Demonstrated ability to own components or end-to-end features, from design through production and live-site support.
Other 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.
- 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 or evolving platform-level systems (e.g., scheduling, admission control, load management, storage, or backend infrastructure).
- Solid understanding of distributed systems concepts, including concurrency control, resource management, fault tolerance, and scalability patterns.
- Experience with data-driven systems, telemetry, monitoring, and signal-based decision making (e.g., health signals, throttling, load balancing).
- Hands-on experience with cloud-native architectures and services (Azure, AWS, or similar), including:
- microservices / service-oriented architecture
- event-driven systems
- containerized workloads or hybrid cloud environments
- Experience building or supporting systems in AI-powered or high-throughput environments, where workload patterns can shift rapidly (e.g., Copilot-like scenarios).
- Familiarity with AI/ML workload characteristics (e.g., bursty traffic, high compute/storage demand, latency sensitivity) is a plus.
- Experience leveraging AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Copilot, code generation, automated diagnostics) to improve engineering productivity.
- Proven ability to drive technical discussions and influence design decisions across teams.
- Solid communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate complex technical concepts.
- Experience working in cross-team and global environments, partnering effectively with engineering, PM, and infrastructure teams.
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.