Senior Software Engineer

Overview

Team Purpose 

Cloud operations are entering a new era. The next generation of infrastructure will not be managed one workflow at a time, but through autonomous systems that can reason, plan, act, and learn across Microsoft’s largest Kubernetes fleets. COSMIC is building that future, and this role will help create the agentic infrastructure that makes it real. 

The COSMIC team, part of the M365 Substrate Core organization, has a bold mission to standardize how we deliver services and build a modern Kubernetes-based compute fabric with turn-key geo-presence, security, high availability, fault isolation, and automated cloud build out. COSMIC is a strategic investment to modernize our compute platform and improve the agility, security, compliance, reliability, and cost efficiency of services across Microsoft. 

As cloud fleets continue to grow in size and complexity, operating them increasingly requires more than traditional automation. We believe the future lies in intelligent systems that help engineers move from managing infrastructure directly to defining goals, policies, and operational intent, while the platform handles routine decision-making and execution safely at scale. 

Job Purpose 

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to build autonomous operational capabilities for COSMIC. 

This team is responsible for the agentic infrastructure, intelligent operational systems, and learning capabilities that help engineers manage cloud services at fleet scale. Its mission is to make the safe path the fast path for operating modern cloud services by combining scalable agent systems, operational intelligence, and continuous learning. 

In this role, you will own significant features and services that enable AI agents to reason about, coordinate, and execute operational workflows safely and efficiently. You will take problems from design through production, building capabilities for deployment, capacity, resiliency, recovery, optimization, evaluation, and continuous learning across Microsoft’s largest Kubernetes fleets. 

You will work with product managers, architects, and engineers across COSMIC to turn operational needs into reliable platform experiences. You will be expected to operate with substantial autonomy, make sound design decisions, deliver high-quality code, use production signals to improve the system, and help other engineers succeed through technical leadership and example. 

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

• Own the design, implementation, rollout, and operation of significant autonomous operations features and services within COSMIC. 

• Build platform components that enable AI agents to reason, coordinate, and safely execute operational workflows at fleet scale. 

• Develop intelligent capabilities for deployment, capacity, resiliency, recovery, optimization, and other operational scenarios. 

• Implement clear safety boundaries, policy checks, observability, rollback, and human oversight for agentic actions in production environments. 

• Design and implement sandbox isolation, controlled production access, and blast-radius containment so autonomous actions remain bounded and safe. 

• Build evaluation, experimentation, feedback, and learning loops that improve system quality and operational effectiveness over time. 

• Translate customer and operational requirements into well-designed, testable, maintainable software and measurable success criteria. 

• Partner with engineers, product managers, and architects across COSMIC to resolve dependencies and deliver end-to-end scenarios. 

• Investigate complex production issues, use telemetry and data to identify root causes, and deliver durable fixes that improve reliability. 

• Lead feature-level technical reviews, contribute to architecture and roadmap decisions, and mentor engineers through design and code reviews. 

• Improve engineering practices, reusable patterns, and operational tooling so the team can move faster without lowering the bar for safety or quality. 

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.

 

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.

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 designing, building, and operating distributed systems, cloud services, or Kubernetes-based infrastructure.
• Experience owning complex features or services from design through production, including reliability, instrumentation, and supportability.
• Experience with production AI or agent systems, workflow orchestration, control planes, or intelligent automation.
• Experience implementing safety, policy, identity, authorization, observability, evaluation, or approval mechanisms for automated systems.
• Solid coding, debugging, testing, and systems design skills, with attention to maintainability and operational quality.
• Experience using telemetry, experiments, and customer feedback to improve product and system outcomes.
• Ability to communicate technical decisions clearly and collaborate effectively across engineering and product disciplines. 

Software Engineering IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $160,200 - $261,000 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.