Senior Software Engineer — Microsoft
- Location
- Zürich
- Contract
- full-time
- Posted
- Yesterday
Role overview
Visual Studio Code is where millions of developers turn ideas into working software.
We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer in Zurich to help build its next generation of editing, development, and GitHub Copilot experiences.
You will help make complex developer workflows feel simple, from everyday coding and debugging to delegating work to AI.
- Visual Studio Code is where millions of developers turn ideas into working software.
- We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer in Zurich to help build its next generation of editing, development, and GitHub Copilot experiences.
- Identify product and engineering opportunities, helping define what to build through user feedback, experimentation, and technical insight.
- Shape technical direction within your area, balancing near-term product needs with long-term maintainability.
- Basic 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.
Main responsibilities
- Identify product and engineering opportunities, helping define what to build through user feedback, experimentation, and technical insight.
- Shape technical direction within your area, balancing near-term product needs with long-term maintainability.
- Lead hands-on design, implementation, testing, and delivery of VS Code features, coordinating contributors and partner-team dependencies as needed.
- Own outcomes after release: understand adoption, investigate quality issues, and use telemetry, evaluations, and user feedback to guide improvements.
- Improve responsiveness and reliability through profiling, debugging, and automated testing; strengthen the tools that let the team experiment and ship confidently.
- Work in the open: discuss designs publicly, investigate community-reported issues, and collaborate directly with developers and extension authors.
- Mentor engineers and improve technical decisions through constructive design and code reviews.
Key requirements
- Basic 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.
What the company offers
- /perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work. Software Engineering IC4
- The typical base pay range for this role across Switzerland is CHF 146,200.00
- CHF 245,900.00 per year.
- Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation.
- Find additional benefits and pay information here:
- https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/corporate-pay/switzerland-corporate-pay.html
Application process
- Solid programming and application engineering skills, with the ability to become productive in a large TypeScript and Rust codebase.
- Experience leading technical design and hands-on delivery for complex projects involving multiple contributors, within one team or across partner teams.
- Sound product and engineering judgment, including the ability to turn an ambiguous user problem into a practical, maintainable solution.
- Solid communication and collaboration skills, including working across team boundaries and helping other engineers grow. Preferred Qualifications
- We welcome a range of product backgrounds; these are helpful experiences, not a checklist.
- Previous work on developer tools, open-source projects, or AI products is not required.
- 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.
- Experience building interactive applications, with attention to performance, accessibility, or cross-platform behavior.
Additional details
- We value engineers who care about how software feels, make sound decisions amid ambiguity, and learn from what they ship.
- Performance, accessibility, extensibility, security, and developer control are part of the product, not finishing touches.
- Solid communication and collaboration skills, including working across team boundaries and helping other engineers grow.
- Experience building AI-powered features or contributing to developer tools or open-source projects. Product and open source
- Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work. Software Engineering IC4
Notes and original content
- About the team
- Examples of work
- Responsibilities
- Qualifications
- Experience building AI-powered features or contributing to developer tools or open-source projects.
- Product and open source
- Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.
- Software Engineering IC4
Questions about this listing
What salary does Microsoft offer for this role?
Microsoft lists CHF 113'500 - 172'000 gross per year for this position in Zürich. This is the salary published in the original listing (or, when the employer omits a figure, a realistic estimate for the role and sector) — the calculator on this site converts it to your actual net take-home once cross-border tax and social contributions are applied.
Is this a full-time role, and what type of contract does Microsoft offer?
This listing is a full-time position. The contract type shown here comes directly from the employer's original posting; always confirm exact hours, notice period and probation length with Microsoft during the application process, since these details can vary by role even within the same contract category.
Do I need a cross-border work permit for a role in Zürich?
EU/EFTA residents living in the border zone of the country adjoining Canton Zürich can apply for a G permit; the Swiss employer files it with that canton's migration office after the contract is signed. Border-zone rules and processing times vary by neighbouring country and canton, so confirm the specifics with Zürich's cantonal migration office or with HR during the application.
How do I apply for this position at Microsoft?
Use the "Apply now" button on this page — it links directly to Microsoft's original listing at apply.careers.microsoft.com, so your application goes straight to the employer's own applicant-tracking system. Frontaliere Ticino does not collect or forward applications itself.
