Senior Software Engineer - Windows 365
Microsoft · China, Jiangsu, Suzhou ·
- Work mode
- Onsite
- Seniority
- Senior
- Category
- Software engineering
- Experience
- 4+ years
Role: Senior Software Engineer
Do you have a passion for software design, engineering, debugging and problem-solving? Are you self-motivated, proactive, and results oriented, with the ability to generate clarity in ambiguous situations, ramp up quickly, understand complex problems, and create solutions across products? If so, join us in building the future of Windows!
Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop are fundamentally changing the nature of personal computing, pushing technology in the cloud to make remote experiences better, more secure, and easier to manage than local. Both have recently been recognized as a leader in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Desktop as a Service (DaaS), and together they are already a billion-dollar business, with solid customer pull from on-premises Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) customers looking to modernize and move to the cloud.
The Windows Cloud Experiences team builds Windows App, the unified client for connecting to Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft Dev Box, Remote Desktop Services, and remote PCs. We create secure, reliable, and high-performance client experiences that bring together native operating system capabilities and cloud-powered services across devices and form factors. Our vision is to provide the world with the best expression of Windows from any client, any operating system, and any form factor.
Linux is an important endpoint platform for Windows Cloud, spanning developer workstations, thin clients, and highly regulated environments in healthcare, government, finance, and contact centers. We are investing in a Microsoft-built Windows App for Linux to give these customers a consistent and fully supported way to reach their Windows desktops and apps in the cloud. This role is centered on Linux client and platform engineering, working close to the operating system, the desktop stack, and the remoting protocol, not only surface-level user interface development. You will join a diverse and agile team of motivated engineers and product managers whose culture is customer obsession: we do what is necessary to help customers succeed, move fast, and have fun building meaningful products.
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
As a Senior Software Engineer, you will own significant areas of the Windows App Linux client from architecture through implementation, validation, release, and live-site support, making remote Windows experiences feel secure, responsive, and deeply integrated with the local Linux desktop.
You will be responsible for:
- Architect and build the Windows App Linux client. Design and implement core client architecture in modern C++: process and threading model, cross-platform core layering, rendering and presentation pipeline, session lifecycle, and the native desktop experience across X11 and Wayland compositors.
- Own device redirection and input end to end. Design, implement, and debug the peripheral redirection stack that lets local devices be controlled seamlessly from a remote session: keyboard, mouse and relative mouse, pen and touch, audio and microphone, camera, USB, smart card, printers, scanners, drive and folder redirection, and clipboard.
- Deliver high-fidelity display and graphics experiences. Implement multi-monitor support, dynamic resolution and DPI scaling, and hardware-accelerated decode and rendering, tuned for frame rate, latency, and visual quality from thin clients to workstations.
- Own remoting protocol and connection quality. Work at the Remote Desktop Protocol layer and its virtual channels, covering transport selection over TCP and UDP, connection establishment and reconnect, bandwidth adaptation, and end-to-end interactive latency.
- Diagnose the hardest problems in the stack. Root-cause complex defects spanning application, kernel, driver, protocol, and service boundaries using native debugging, tracing, profiling, and packet-level analysis, including issues that reproduce only on specific hardware or network conditions.
- Raise engineering fundamentals and uphold high standards across design and code review, automated test coverage on real hardware, build and release pipelines, telemetry and diagnostics, and rapid live-site response, while providing technical guidance to other engineers.
- Design and implement new Windows 365 Cloud PC and Azure Virtual Desktop features for Linux endpoints, collaborating with internal partner teams such as Windows, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, identity, and device management, as well as OEM and ecosystem partners delivering Linux-based endpoints.
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.
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.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in computer science or related technical field.
- 8+ years of software engineering experience, including at least 4+ years using C/C++ to build applications, system components, or device drivers on Linux.
- Excellent technical design and troubleshooting skills in native Linux application development or device driver development.
- Hands-on experience debugging and profiling native code on Linux.
- Fluent English communication skill.
- Expertise in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions.
- Expertise in device driver development and debugging on Linux, or Windows.
- Expertise with remote desktop protocols such as Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Citrix ICA/HDX, Omnissa Blast Extreme, PCoIP, Remote Framebuffer Protocol (RFB), or similar technologies.
- Solid understanding of remote desktop redirection technologies and client capabilities, including USB, audio/video, camera, smart card, clipboard, and file system redirection, multimedia optimization, and remote application delivery.
- Experience shipping and servicing a large cross-platform C++ codebase, including Linux packaging and dependency management.
- Ambitious, self-motivated, agile, can-do attitude and great at dealing with ambiguity.
#W+DJOBS
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.