What are the responsibilities and job description for the Software Engineer II position at Microsoft AI?
Overview
About the Team
Copilot Security builds the foundations that make Microsoft’s AI experiences trusted, resilient, and safe. We design and implement security capabilities that protect users across Windows, Edge, web, mobile, and third‑party ecosystems. Our work spans secure identity flows, defenses against threats like prompt injection, and privacy‑first systems that scale globally.
About The Role
Copilot is entering a new era of agentic AI, where intelligent agents take actions on behalf of users. We’re looking for a Software Engineer II with solid fundamentals and high growth potential—someone who can quickly deepen their expertise in AI‑driven security and expand their ownership over time. You’ll contribute to secure orchestration frameworks, AI‑powered defenses, and the core systems that ensure Copilot’s actions remain trustworthy.
This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy solving complex technical problems, learning new AI‑driven patterns, and building secure, scalable systems that balance innovation with user trust.
Why This Role Matters
Your work will directly shape how hundreds of millions of users experience safe, trustworthy, and innovative AI. You’ll be at the forefront of defining how agentic AI can proactively defend users, mitigate emerging threats, and unlock new secure scenarios, making a global impact on Microsoft’s most transformative 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.
Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.
Responsibilities
Required Qualifications:
Software Engineering IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $100,600 - $199,000 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 $131,400 - $215,400 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
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.
About the Team
Copilot Security builds the foundations that make Microsoft’s AI experiences trusted, resilient, and safe. We design and implement security capabilities that protect users across Windows, Edge, web, mobile, and third‑party ecosystems. Our work spans secure identity flows, defenses against threats like prompt injection, and privacy‑first systems that scale globally.
About The Role
Copilot is entering a new era of agentic AI, where intelligent agents take actions on behalf of users. We’re looking for a Software Engineer II with solid fundamentals and high growth potential—someone who can quickly deepen their expertise in AI‑driven security and expand their ownership over time. You’ll contribute to secure orchestration frameworks, AI‑powered defenses, and the core systems that ensure Copilot’s actions remain trustworthy.
This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy solving complex technical problems, learning new AI‑driven patterns, and building secure, scalable systems that balance innovation with user trust.
Why This Role Matters
Your work will directly shape how hundreds of millions of users experience safe, trustworthy, and innovative AI. You’ll be at the forefront of defining how agentic AI can proactively defend users, mitigate emerging threats, and unlock new secure scenarios, making a global impact on Microsoft’s most transformative 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.
Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.
Responsibilities
- Build and ship security features that protect Copilot from threats such as prompt injection, adversarial manipulation, and unsafe agentic workflows.
- Implement secure orchestration components that allow Copilot to safely delegate and execute actions across devices, services, and platforms.
- Contribute to developing intelligent agents that apply information‑flow reasoning, guardrails, and common‑sense constraints for security and privacy.
- Collaborate with partner teams across engineering, product, security, privacy, and AI to adopt secure agentic patterns and best practices.
- Instrument and monitor key metrics for agentic AI security, using data to improve reliability, safety, and user trust.
- Write clear documentation for secure agentic patterns, including safe‑delegation guidelines and emerging risk considerations.
- Demonstrate high growth potential by progressively expanding technical scope, autonomy, and ownership as you gain experience with agentic AI and security systems.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 2 years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C , C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
- OR equivalent experience.
- Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 3 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 5 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 production‑quality software systems.
- 1–2 years building or operating large‑scale distributed systems or services.
- Experience working on security‑critical, privacy‑sensitive, or AI‑powered systems.
- Familiarity with agentic AI concepts such as tool calling, orchestration, or multi‑agent workflows.
- Experience with modern cloud development, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), or distributed compute frameworks.
- Exposure to evaluation or observability tooling for LLM‑based applications (e.g., LangFuse, MLFlow, Phoenix) or interest in learning these systems.
- Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and collaborate effectively across teams.
- Demonstrated high growth potential, with solid learning velocity and the ability to quickly take on broader areas of ownership.
- Growth mindset with interest in developing deeper expertise in AI security, orchestration, and emerging threat models.
Software Engineering IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $100,600 - $199,000 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 $131,400 - $215,400 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
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.
Salary : $100,600 - $199,000