Microsoft

Come help build the next evolution in Xbox Game Compatibility. Join the Xbox Platform team and leverage your system engineering experience to advance the future of Game Preservation. Your work will help identify and outline the specific requirements and technical boundaries for preserving game content, build scalable emulation solutions, and ensure a fun gameplay experience for all players. Our technology solutions are a critical part of enabling the Xbox goal of allowing players to continue to enjoy their games across devices.

As a Principal Software Engineer on our team, you will have the opportunity to shape the future of game preservation. You will own a graphics shader compatibility pipeline to ensure shaders from previous generations of games run correctly and efficiently on modern Xbox hardware. You will work with DirectX APIs, graphics hardware, and game code to design and optimize a cutting-edge shader translation system for modern GPUs. Often, this will require working with limited access to debugging symbols and source code. You'll work closely with graphics architects and driver teams to implement high-performance code generation, optimize shader pipelines, and push the boundaries of real-time rendering.

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.

• Own the graphics shader compatibility pipeline for running previous generation games on modern Xbox hardware
• Design and implement systems to translate shader instructions and behaviors across hardware generations - both generically and, when needed, on a per-title basis
• Investigate and resolve correctness and performance issues in shader execution
• Build and maintain tools that support shader analysis, debugging, and compatibility validation
• Collaborate with engineers across Xbox, Microsoft, and external partners to deliver robust solutions that uphold our compatibility promise

Required/Minimum Qualifications (RQs/MQs)

• Bachelor'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++
  • OR equivalent experience
• 2+ years experience using shader technologies such as HLSL, DXIL, SPIR-V, and IHV ISAs
• 2+ years experience debugging performance-critical software
• 3+ years experience communicating and working across multiple teams

Preferred Skills

• • Experience with Xbox graphics
  • Proficiency in developing and optimizing shaders across multiple graphics runtime systems
  • Deep understanding of the graphics stack—from game API usage (e.g., DirectX, Vulkan, OpenGL) to low-level GPU hardware.
  • Ability to debug low level technical issues
  • Experience building tools and pipelines to support development workflows

Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 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 $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until July 14, 2025.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.