Software Engineer II - CTJ - Poly

About the role

Join the Azure AI Platform air-gapped engineering team as a Software Engineer II delivering secure, scalable, and mission-critical AI infrastructure for Microsoft’s most sensitive cloud environments. We build foundational services that power Azure Machine Learning, Azure AI Services, Azure OpenAI, and Microsoft Foundry capabilities across air-gapped, sovereign, and commercial clouds. Our team aligns with the Foundry Product Way, which emphasizes first principles thinking, customer-first innovation, and rapid learning cycles. We design systems that are not only scalable and reliable but adaptive to a rapidly evolving AI landscape, requiring engineers who thrive in complex, high-impact spaces and who build using modern AI-accelerated workflows.

This environment is built for engineers who want to do their life’s best work and contribute to the foundation for every AI application on the planet. We operate as full-stack AI-native builders, leveraging modern tooling and AI systems to accelerate development speed, enhance product quality, and maximize time spent solving deep technical problems. Spanning Azure Machine Learning, Azure AI Services, Azure OpenAI, and Microsoft Foundry, we build and operate the platform that brings frontier models and critical AI capabilities to every person and organization on the planet—so they can achieve more.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain secure, reliable, and scalable cloud services supporting Azure AI Platform workloads across air-gapped and sovereign cloud environments.
• Apply strong engineering fundamentals—automation, observability, testing, resiliency, and secure-by-default design—throughout the development lifecycle.
• Develop and improve automated systems for deployment, validation, telemetry, and operations to reduce manual overhead and increase engineering velocity.
• Use AI-assisted development and operational tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, safe Large Language Model (LLM) workflows) to accelerate coding, debugging, documentation, and rapid prototyping as part of becoming a full-stack AI-native builder.
• Participate in on-call rotations, investigate service issues, perform root cause analysis, and contribute durable fixes to improve long-term system health.
• Incorporate customer and partner feedback into engineering decisions, following the Foundry Product Way’s focus on customer-first innovation and rapid learning loops.
• Collaborate across engineering teams using clear communication and canonical documentation to maintain alignment and support a culture of craftsmanship, curiosity, and continuous improvement.
• Embody Microsoft’s culture and values.

Requirements

• 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.
• 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 pre-offer and post-hire. Failure to maintain or obtain the appropriate U.S. Government clearance may result in employment action up to and including termination.
• Must pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
• U.S. citizenship verification due to citizenship-based legal restrictions for supporting U.S. federal, state, and/or local government agency customers.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 3+ 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 5+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Background in cloud platforms (Azure preferred; GCP, AWS).
• Proficiency in C# or Python.
• Understanding of CI/CD and automation best practices.
• Problem-solving and debugging skills across cloud services, platform components, and operational tooling.
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to learn rapidly in a fast-evolving AI and infrastructure environment, including staying current with new architectures, tooling, and best practices.

Pay

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.