Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Systems

Job ID: 200045410Posted: 2026-07-31Location: United States, Washington, RedmondSalary: USD $119,800 - $234,700 per yearEmployment type: Full-TimeWork site: 3 days / week in-officeRole type: Individual ContributorTravel: Less than 25%Profession: Software EngineeringDiscipline: Software EngineeringCompany: MicrosoftOverviewEvery year, millions of developers, IT professionals, partners, and customers turn to Microsoft Ignite and Microsoft Build to see what comes next — and the Microsoft Events organization is the team that brings those moments to life. Behind every keynote, every session, and every registration rush is a platform that has to be flawless on the days the whole world is watching. We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer to help architect, build, and run it.This is a high-ownership, hands-on role for a builder who runs toward the hard problems. You will design distributed systems that stay rock-solid from quiet planning cycles to the instant registration opens or a keynote goes live and traffic explodes. You will set the technical direction for scale, reliability, performance, and security across the platform, mentor engineers, and stay close enough to the code to lead from the front. When the event date cannot move, you are the person who makes sure the technology is ready.And you bring energy to all of it. You are self-motivated and take ownership without being asked, and immovable event dates energize you rather than intimidate you. You sweat the details, because at event scale a single overlooked edge case is visible to millions of people at once. Most of all, you are driven to build systems that are scalable, reliable, and secure by default, and you hold yourself and your team to that bar every single day.ResponsibilitiesArchitect, build, and operate scalable, distributed applications and services that power Microsoft's flagship events, including Microsoft Ignite and Microsoft Build.Design for extreme elasticity so the platform absorbs large, unpredictable spikes in demand — registration openings, live keynotes, and session go-lives — without degrading the attendee experience.Own reliability end to end: set availability targets, build in redundancy and graceful degradation, and lead incident response so critical event moments never fail.Engineer security and privacy in by default, protecting attendee data and meeting Microsoft's compliance and trust standards across every service.Raise the bar on engineering quality through rigorous design reviews, automated testing, deep observability, and safe, continuous deployment.Partner with product managers, event producers, and cross-functional teams to turn event requirements into resilient technical solutions.Provide technical leadership and mentorship, setting direction, guiding architecture, and growing the skills of the engineering team.Evaluate emerging technologies and patterns, and champion improvements that increase scale, reliability, and engineering velocity.QualificationsRequired QualificationsBachelor'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. Preferred QualificationsMaster'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 event, media, streaming, or other high-traffic, consumer-facing platforms.Experience architecting systems that handle sudden, high-concurrency traffic and global distribution.Depth in distributed data stores, caching, messaging and event-driven architectures, and performance tuning.A record of technical leadership, mentorship, and influence across teams and disciplines.Demonstrated experience designing and delivering large-scale, distributed, cloud-based applications and services.Proven ability to build systems that are scalable, reliable, and secure, and to operate them in production at high scale.Hands-on experience with a major cloud platform (Microsoft Azure preferred) and modern practices such as microservices, containers, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code.Exceptional problem-solving skills and a track record of technical ownership from design through production operations.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: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.