Senior Software Engineer
Microsoft
The AI & Innovation team at Microsoft Suzhou is seeking a highly motivated Senior Software Engineer to pioneer the future of AI-driven media and advertising experiences. This role sits at the exciting intersection of rapid AI prototyping, generative video technologies, and scalable advertising platform integration. You will be responsible for building, experimenting with, and shipping novel AI features that leverage state-of-the-art models for video generation, editing, and personalization, seamlessly integrating them with our advertising and consumer platforms to create compelling user experiences and business value.
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
- Rapid AI Prototyping: Design, build, and iterate on high-potential prototypes for AI-powered video generation, editing, and content understanding. Quickly validate ideas using internal and cutting-edge open-source AI models.
- System Integration & Productionization: Bridge the gap between research prototypes and production-ready systems. Integrate AI video generation capabilities with large-scale advertising platforms (e.g., Microsoft Advertising) and consumer products (e.g., Bing, Edge) to deliver personalized and engaging ad formats or content experiences.
- Full-Stack Development: Develop end-to-end solutions encompassing backend AI service APIs, model inference optimization, and frontend interfaces to showcase new capabilities.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Applied Scientists, Machine Learning Engineers, Product Managers, and Ads Platform teams to define technical requirements, identify integration points, and align on product roadmaps.
- Technical Leadership: Drive architectural decisions for scalable, reliable, and cost-effective AI service deployment. Mentor junior engineers and promote engineering best practices.
- Live Site Ownership: Participate in on-call rotations and act as a Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) to ensure the health, performance, and reliability of services you build.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field AND 4+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in languages such as Python, C++, or C#.
- OR equivalent industry experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 7+ years of software engineering experience with a focus on AI/ML systems.
- Proven experience with one or more of the following:
- Developing or applying generative AI models (e.g., diffusion models for image/video, GANs, autoregressive models).
- Building and optimizing inference pipelines for large AI models on cloud infrastructure (Azure ML, Kubernetes).
- Integrating AI features into consumer-facing web or mobile applications at scale.
- Working with programmatic advertising ecosystems (DSPs, SSPs, Ad Exchanges).
- Familiarity with cloud services (Azure preferred), microservices architecture, and DevOps practices (CI/CD, monitoring).
- A portfolio or demonstrable projects in AI, computer vision, or generative media is a strong plus.
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements.
Hands-on experience in at least two of the three core areas:
- AI/ML Prototyping: Experience with deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow) and implementing/tuning models from recent literature.
- Video/Graphics Processing: Experience with video codecs (FFmpeg), computer graphics, GPU programming (CUDA), or real-time media pipelines.
- Ads/Targeting Platforms: Experience working with large-scale advertising systems, ad serving, targeting, measurement, or related monetization infrastructure.
- Solid problem-solving skills and the ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.
- Fluent English communication skills (written and verbal).
#GXP
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.