Software Engineer II - Excel Team

Microsoft Excel is where hundreds of millions of people bring data, decisions, and work together. The Excel team is building the next generation of AI-powered spreadsheet experiences - combining the flexibility of the grid with intelligent assistance that can understand workbook context, help users analyze and visualize information, automate multi-step work, and move from data to decisions with less effort.  We are looking for a Software Engineer II to help create these experiences. You will translate emerging AI capabilities into intuitive, reliable, and responsible customer-facing features, collaborate across disciplines, and apply software engineering fundamentals and practical AI curiosity to turn ambitious ideas into meaningful customer value.  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.

Design, implement, test, ship, and operate AI-powered spreadsheet features; contribute to architecture, design, code reviews, debugging, deployment, monitoring, and operational readiness; and maintain high standards for code quality, maintainability, performance, reliability, security, and customer experience.  Contribute to end-to-end AI product experiences spanning rich user interfaces, workbook and enterprise context, application logic, model orchestration, services, data access, and platform capabilities.  Develop intelligent workflows that use large language models to understand user intent, reason over spreadsheet data, invoke appropriate tools, and help users calculate, analyze, visualize, organize, and share information.  Build reliable, grounded agentic experiences that use workbook and permission-aware context, validated model outputs, evaluation, telemetry, and safeguards to complete multi-step tasks accurately and safely.  Apply responsible AI practices through transparency, user control, privacy, security, guardrails, appropriate uncertainty, and fallbacks for incomplete or unsafe model output.  Thrive in a fast-paced environment by rapidly prototyping with emerging models and tools, validating assumptions through evidence, incorporating learnings, and maturing successful concepts into robust production solutions.  Collaborate across Engineering, Product Management, Design, Applied Science, Research, and partner teams to help define AI opportunities and deliver well-scoped spreadsheet features.

Required Qualifications: 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.  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.

Experience designing, building, testing, deploying, and operating production software.  Experience with full-stack, web, client, or distributed systems development and grounding in data structures, algorithms, software design, debugging, testing, and performance analysis.  Hands-on experience developing with large language models, generative AI, machine learning, or natural-language interfaces through professional work, academic projects, or substantial personal projects is a plus.  Ability to collaborate across disciplines, communicate technical trade-offs, learn about evolving