Job#: 3018765 Job Description: Software Development Engineer 4Start Date: 1/26/2026
End Date: 6/30/2026
Duration: ~5 months
Extension: Possible (based on budget & performance)
Location: Remote - must support PST core hours
Pay Rate Range: $60-$65/hr
Openings: 1
Top 3 Must-Have Skills Deployment / Release Engineering & Automation - 4+ years- CI/CD pipelines, phased rollouts, automated gates, release promotion logic, safe deployment patterns, automation replacing manual workflows.
Telemetry, Crash Diagnostics & Observability - 3+ years- Kusto queries, ETW/WPP, reliability dashboards, crash/watson interpretation, turning telemetry into health metrics that gate releases.
Incident Response & Operational Engineering - 2+ years- ICM workflows, anomaly response, triage, regression mitigation, halting bad flights, cross-team coordination during incidents.
Purpose of the RoleEngineer will
design, build, and own a fully automated deployment pipeline for
Windows codec packs (notably HEVC) delivered via the
Microsoft Store to billions of devices.
Goal: Transform a
manual, month-long release process into an
automated, data-driven flow capable of safe deployment in
under 1 week.
Key Responsibilities- Build an end-to-end automated deployment pipeline for codec packs.
- Manage phased Store rollouts (10% 25% 50% 100%) with automated promotion/hold logic based on telemetry.
- Define/instrument release health metrics using telemetry, crash data, reliability signals.
- Implement anomaly detection, automated alerts, and auto-generated ICMs.
- Create pre-flight validations, telemetry-based gates, and safe-deployment guardrails.
- Maintain monitoring dashboards, Kusto queries, alert rules, and diagnostic tooling.
- Collaborate closely with codec engineering, Store operations, reliability/SRE, and service teams.
- Improve observability and accelerate root-cause identification.
Ideal BackgroundCore Strengths- Strong telemetry & diagnostics (ETW/WPP, crash pipelines, reliability metrics).
- Demonstrated automation mindset-turning manual processes into pipelines, scripts, alerting, gating.
- Familiar with incident/ICM workflows and fast mitigation practices.
Nice to Have- Experience with Store or client component deployments.
- Knowledge of media/codec tech: HEVC, AV1, media pipelines, Windows media stack.
- Proven cross-team collaborator across engineering, SRE, release, and vendor partners.
Qualifications- Experience shipping large-scale services, CI/CD systems, Store or service deployments, or SRE/reliability engineering.
- Expertise in telemetry tooling: ETW/WPP, Kusto, crash diagnostics, reliability analysis.
- Ability to convert manual processes into automation through pipelines and policy systems.
- Experience with automated gating, alerting systems, and incident workflows (ICM).
- Strong communication & collaboration.
- Bonus: codec knowledge, Windows Media Foundation experience, Store flighting.
EEO Employer
Apex Systems is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate or allow discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, registered domestic partner status, marital status, disability, status as a crime victim, protected veteran status, political affiliation, union membership, or any other characteristic protected by law. Apex will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law. If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation in using our website for a search or application, please contact our Employee Services Department at or .
Apex Systems is a world-class IT services company that serves thousands of clients across the globe. When you join Apex, you become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We offer quality career resources, training, certifications, development opportunities, and a comprehensive benefits package. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in many awards, including ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing in Talent Satisfaction in the United States and Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom and Mexico. Apex uses a virtual recruiter as part of the application process. Click for more details.
Apex Benefits Overview: Apex offers a range of supplemental benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance plans that offer an optional layer of financial protection. We offer an ESPP (employee stock purchase program) and a 401K program which allows you to contribute typically within 30 days of starting, with a company match after 12 months of tenure. Apex also offers a HSA (Health Savings Account on the HDHP plan), a SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with up to 8 free counseling sessions, a corporate discount savings program and other discounts. In terms of professional development, Apex hosts an on-demand training program, provides access to certification prep and a library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars once you have 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA. Apex has a dedicated customer service team for our Consultants that can address questions around benefits and other resources, as well as a certified Career Coach. You can access a full list of our benefits, programs, support teams and resources within our 'Welcome Packet' as well, which an Apex team member can provide.
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