Software Engineer II - Power & Systems Validation at Microsoft
Redmond, WA
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Aug 12, 2026
Redmond, WA
Sep 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A mid-level quality engineering role on Microsoft's Surface Fundamentals team, focused on system-level validation of next-generation Surface hardware. The engineer will design and maintain automated test frameworks covering power, performance, connectivity, and interoperability, while also building tooling and dashboards to surface quality trends. The role suits someone comfortable writing automation code, debugging hardware/software issues, and working across lab infrastructure and data analysis.
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 80 people in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software quality assurance analysts and testers). range 50–120
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $132,542 (middle half $100,574–$171,909).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Aug 15, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (6)
The title 'Software Quality Engineer II' maps to a Mid-level band; the minimum experience gate is 2+ years, consistent with that level, though a preferred qualifier of 3+ years in quality engineering also appears.
The posting accepts equivalent experience in lieu of a Bachelor's degree, so no formal degree is hard-required.
Python, PowerShell, C, C++, and C# are listed together as interchangeable language options within the required qualifications block; Python is used as the primary name with the others captured as alternatives. They are also individually called out in the responsibilities narrative.
LLM-based workflows, AI-assisted tools, and machine learning techniques appear under a clearly preferred/bonus section (listed after the hard requirements); marked accordingly.
Azure DevOps, Git, Power BI, CI/CD, Windows internals, ACPI, and USB all appear under a 'Familiarity with' or 'Knowledge of' framing following the core requirements block, indicating preferred rather than hard-gated skills.
No work location is explicitly stated in the posting; Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is inferred as the most likely location given this is a Microsoft Surface hardware team role.
Read the full posting
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