Software Engineer II - Core Storage

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

1d

About The Position

Storage is experiencing incredible innovations right now. The innovations of storage technologies and cloud connected devices are having a profound effect on every area of Microsoft’s business. Storage devices are getting larger in capacity, faster in performance and intelligence at an astounding rate; our customers are expecting seamless experiences across devices and across local and cloud boundaries. Come and join the team that builds the platform and end user experiences for storage across Windows devices and the Cloud.
The Storage and File Systems team is part of the Azure Edge + Platform Core OS Base team. We deliver storage solutions for Windows, Azure, IoT, and new devices that Microsoft and our industry partners ship in the future. This area involves tough challenges and provides tremendous opportunities for impact and growth, including leveraging the reduced size, portability, and increased functionality of new storage devices; improving software platform infrastructure; advancing emerging protocol standards; enabling seamless integration of local and cloud storage; and developing solutions that support diverse content usage needs.
In Core OS, we are responsible for the Operating Systems that power Azure, Microsoft's Linux OS, the platforms for Windows Client and Xbox, and our Windows Server ecosystem – through all of these, we support every one of our cloud businesses and billions of customers around the world. In this era of ubiquitous computing, systems software excellence has never been more important for Microsoft. High‑quality, high‑efficiency operating systems and platform components underpin everything we do as a company, from making our systems more reliable for our customers to increasing our competitiveness by reducing COGS, to delivering new features and capabilities to meet the needs of our global customer base – that’s all us!
To deliver on our vision, we are looking for a Software Engineer II who is motivated to learn, collaborate, and contribute to innovation across our storage stack and industry. This is an opportunity that will expand your knowledge of operating system architecture, specifically storage subsystems, and will provide ample opportunities for industry-wide influence.
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. In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.
In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 2+ years technical engineering experience with system level programming in languages including, but not limited to C, or C++ OR equivalent experience.
• 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.

Nice To Haves

• 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 or C++ 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 or C++ OR equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of experience in systems level software development in C/C++.
• 2+ years of experience with multithreading programming, synchronization, locking e.t.c.
• 2+ years of experience with kernel and device driver development in Linux or Windows.
• Familiarity with current and emerging storage technologies.
• Knowledge of Windows/Linux Low level boot process.
• Knowledge of PKI Infrastructure, Digital Certificates, Digital Signatures, TPM, secure boot, measured boot e.t.c.
• Knowledge of advanced data structures e.g., BTrees, Hash Tables, Skip Lists, e.t.c.
• Experience with storage/filesystems in Windows, Linux, Kubernetes.
• Familiarity with design of KV stores (nosql, redis), ACID transactions
• Experience in analyzing storage performance and functionality.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain core storage and file‑system components across Windows, Linux, Azure, Xbox, and emerging device platforms.
• Deliver new storage features and virtualization capabilities, collaborating closely with internal Microsoft teams and external industry partners.
• Drive performance analysis and optimization, ensuring storage systems meet the demands of next‑generation hardware, protocols, and cloud‑connected scenarios.
• Own the end‑to‑end engineering lifecycle—including architecture, implementation, code reviews, validation, and long‑term maintainability.
• Build and maintain engineering tools, documentation, and infrastructure that support high‑velocity, high‑quality development at scale.
• Participate in cross‑team design discussions and contribute to shared code reviews, driving engineering excellence across the organization.
• Stay current with the broader storage ecosystem, bringing insights that shape architectural direction, long‑range planning, and customer‑impacting innovations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees