Senior Software Engineer - Xbox

Overview

On Team Xbox, we aspire to empower the world's 3 billion gamers to play the games they want, with the people they want, anywhere they want. Gaming, the largest and fastest growing category in media & entertainment, represents an important growth opportunity for Microsoft. We are leading with innovation, as highlighted by bringing the Game Pass subscription to PC, bringing Xbox to new devices with Cloud Gaming, and our recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard King creating exciting new possibilities for players.

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Software Engineer with deep expertise in C++, networking, and audio systems to join the PlayFab Party and Core SDKs team. It is a cloud-powered cross-platform communications service, SDKs and Game Engine (Unreal and Unity) middleware enabling data messaging, voice and text chat for multiplayer games across Windows, Linux, mobile, and console platforms.
You will be instrumental in designing, building, and maintaining core components of our real-time communications stack, Unreal/Unity plugins, including audio encoding/decoding, data exchange, network protocol handling, and moderation enablement.

Why Join Us?
Work on cutting-edge multiplayer technology used across Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, PC, and mobile.
Be part of a collaborative, inclusive, and mission-driven team.
Enjoy flexible work arrangements and strong support for career growth.

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

• Design and implement scalable, high-performance systems for data messaging, voice and text chat.
• Debug and optimize multithreaded C++, Unreal and Unity applications across Windows and Linux-based platforms.
• Develop and maintain network protocol layers using TCP/IP, UDP, sockets, WebSocketPP, HTTP, and WebSockets.
• Support Live Site operations, cloud service and Azure DevOps automation pipelines
• Unreal and Unity game engine integrations

Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

• Bachelor'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.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Master'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.

• 5+ years of professional experience in C++ development (including using C/C++ Standard Library)
• 3+ years of experience in Unreal development and proficient understanding of Unreal Game Engine, Unreal interfaces and game implementation logic.
• Proficient problem-solving and software design skills.
• Expertise in multithreaded programming and synchronization patterns.
• Familiarity with communication protocols: TCP/IP, UDP, sockets, WebSocketPP, HTTP, WebSockets.
• Familiarity with Android, iOS and macOS development.
• Experience with Azure DevOps pipelines and YAML.
• Background in Live Site support and cloud service maintenance.

#GamingJobs

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 $158,400 - $258,000 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
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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.