Software Engineer

Overview

Do you have a passion for software design, engineering, debugging and problem-solving? Are you self-motivated, proactive, and results oriented, with the ability to generate clarity in ambiguous situations, ramp up quickly, understand complex problems, and create solutions across products? If so, join us in building the future of Windows!

Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop are fundamentally changing the nature of personal computing, pushing technology in the cloud to make remote experiences better, more secure, and easier to manage than local. Both have recently been recognized as a leader in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Desktop as a Service (DaaS), and together they are already a billion-dollar business, with solid customer pull from on-premises Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) customers looking to modernize and move to the cloud.

The Windows Cloud Experiences team builds Windows App, the unified client for connecting to Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft Dev Box, Remote Desktop Services, and remote PCs. We create secure, reliable, and high-performance client experiences that bring together native operating system capabilities and cloud-powered services across devices and form factors. Our vision is to provide the world with the best expression of Windows from any client, any operating system, and any form factor.

Linux is an important endpoint platform for Windows Cloud, spanning developer workstations, thin clients, and highly regulated environments in healthcare, government, finance, and contact centers. We are investing in a Microsoft-built Windows App for Linux to give these customers a consistent and fully supported way to reach their Windows desktops and apps in the cloud. This role is centered on Linux client and platform engineering, working close to the operating system, the desktop stack, and the remoting protocol, not only surface-level user interface development. You will join a diverse and agile team of motivated engineers and product managers whose culture is customer obsession: we do what is necessary to help customers succeed, move fast, and have fun building meaningful products.

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

As a Software Engineer on Windows App, you will develop features in the native Linux client, working in the technical areas and at the component level.

You will be responsible for:

• Implement features in the native Linux client. Write production C/C++ for scoped areas.
• Build and debug device redirection channels. Implement and troubleshoot individual redirection features such as clipboard, audio and microphone, printer, camera, drive and folder redirection, and keyboard and mouse input, validating them against real peripherals and real remote sessions.
• Work directly against Linux system interfaces. Learn and use the operating system APIs your features depend on, including audio, video capture, USB and HID, printing, input and display protocols, and D-Bus, and understand how they differ across distributions and hardware.
• Debug native code across layers. Reproduce, isolate, and root-cause defects using gdb, logs, traces, packet captures, and profiling tools, building the ability to reason across application, protocol, operating system, and service boundaries.
• Build working knowledge of the remoting protocol. Understand Remote Desktop Protocol concepts such as virtual channels, transports, and connection establishment, and apply them when implementing and diagnosing features.
• Own quality for what you build. Write unit and integration tests, add telemetry and diagnostic logging, validate on supported distributions and client hardware, and triage incoming issues from internal self-host users and preview customers through to a fix.
• Participate fully in the engineering cycle, taking part in design discussions and code reviews and following through from requirement to production.

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience 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:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related technical field.
• Solid programming ability in C/C++.
• Solid computer science fundamentals.
• Working knowledge of Linux as a development environment and basic debugging.
• Fluent English communication skill.
• Internship, research, or project experience in native application development, systems programming, or device driver development on Linux.
• Familiarity with the Linux desktop stack and desktop application development.
• Exposure to network programming, protocol-level debugging, graphics, or real-time media.
• Experience with modern C/C++, CMake, Git, automated testing, or open-source contributions.
• Ambitious, self-motivated, agile and can-do attitude.

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.