Software Engineer II at Microsoft Corporation
Redmond, WA
$102,100–$202,200from the description
Jul 11, 2026
Redmond, WA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A software engineering role on Microsoft's Azure SQL Platform team, focused on building and operating the control plane and data plane infrastructure that underpins large-scale cloud database services. Day-to-day work involves designing distributed services and microservices, managing global cluster expansions, analyzing telemetry from production systems, and participating in on-call rotations. Suits engineers with backend distributed systems experience.
Mid level · 2+ years · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 31,600 people in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 23,700–41,100
Applicant volume Heavy — This req sits in a large pool with little in its requirements to thin it, and auto-apply tools fire at everything in the occupation. Applying early and leading with the rare skills below is what gets read.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $170,959 (middle half $135,720–$216,519). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
The role is titled 'Software Engineer 2', which maps to an IC3 level at Microsoft — a mid-level individual contributor. The requirements gate on only 2+ years of experience, consistent with a Mid band.
The required coding languages (C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python) are listed as 'including, but not limited to' with explicit 'or equivalent experience' — they are interchangeable options satisfying one gate, so they are captured as a single skill with alternatives.
A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field is listed as required, but the JD explicitly accepts 'equivalent experience' in lieu of the degree, so the degree requirement is set to None.
The two preferred qualifications (2+ years distributed systems; 2+ years backend services in large distributed systems) appear under 'Preferred Qualifications' and are treated as preferred accordingly.
The JD mentions a Microsoft Cloud Background Check as a security screening requirement, but this is a standard employment background check — not a US government security clearance — so the clearance requirement is None.
The base pay range of $102,100–$202,200/year is the standard US range; a higher range of $133,800–$219,200/year applies specifically to the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metro areas.
No specific work location city is stated beyond the US-wide and two metro-specific pay ranges; Microsoft's Redmond/Seattle campus is the most likely primary location for Azure engineering roles, so the CBSA is set to Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA.
Read the full posting
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