Senior Design Engineer - Creative Technologist
Job Description
We’re seeking a Senior Design Engineer - Creative Technologist to join the Windows & Devices Design & Research team and help reimagine the future of Windows and our device portfolio.
At Windows Design, we shape the core operating system—the canvas where billions work, play, and create. At Devices Design, we bring software to life through hardware—Surface, Xbox, peripherals, and emerging form factors that blend digital and physical. Together, we explore how AI-first, multimodal interactions can redefine software, hardware, and future workflows.
In this role, you’ll join a startup-style creative lab of full-stack makers inside Windows Design—curious, ambitious, and maker-first. We explore emerging technologies early and act as scouts: spotting trends, translating them into opportunities and user scenarios, and demystifying them through working prototypes. Our work spans from adding subtle magic to today’s products to concepting and building entirely new ones that anticipate where the industry is heading. We thrive in ambiguity and move quickly from idea to working prototype.
We ship experiments early, learn from real usage, and iterate quickly handing off the most promising work to product teams before moving on to the next frontier.
How We Define a Senior Design Engineer - Creative Technologist
A Senior Design Engineer - Creative Technologist is a full-stack maker operating at the intersection of engineering, experience, and product strategy. They ask “What if?”—then make it real by building and prototyping across mediums, including design, code, and story. They thrive in ambiguity and hands-on experimentation, translating bold ideas into tangible, testable experiences.
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
- Design in code – build and ship scalable prototypes using contemporary web and Windows-native technologies to explore new interaction patterns, AI-enabled capabilities, and 0–1 scenarios. Use code as the primary medium for design, iteration, and validation, with attention to performance, accessibility, and platform constraints.
- Applied AI & research– apply and experiment with LLMs, AI agents, Model Context Protocol (MCP), Computer User Agents (CUA), and related technologies; collaborate with researchers to uncover novel model behaviors and human responses, translating findings into working prototypes and articulated product opportunities.
- Prototype to production – evolve prototypes beyond proof-of-concept, defining viable paths to production through end-to-end implementation or close partnership with Design, PM, Engineering, and Research to scale the work using existing and emerging platforms.
- Build what doesn’t exist – create and maintain tools, scripts, and workflows that accelerate prototyping, close workflow gaps, and upskill the team—expanding design’s technical leverage and throughput.
- Drive alignment and decision-making – clearly communicate and explain technical and experiential decisions, pitch ideas effectively, build alignment across teams, and guide work forward through iteration and shared understanding.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- Master's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Graphic Design, Product Design, Visual Design, Human Computer Interaction, or related field AND 3+ years experience working in product or service design and/or shipping production code
- OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Graphic Design, Product Design, Visual Design, Human Computer Interaction, or related field AND 4+ years experience working in product or service design and/or shipping production code
- OR equivalent experience.
- 3+ years of professional experience owning and shipping end-to-end applications, spanning responsive frontend experiences and scalable backend systems. Industry expertise with HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript, React, and modern frontend frameworks, combined with programming experience in Node.js, Python, and/or C#, C++, Rust, or Java.
- 2+ years of experience applying generative AI, LLMs, or agentic systems in products or prototypes, including evaluation, constraints, and UX integration.
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, Software Engineering, Design (Product, Visual, Graphic), HCI, or related field and 8+ years of experience working in product development or shipping production code
- OR Master’s Degree and 6+ years of experience
- OR equivalent experience.
- Design fluency – experience either as a practicing designer or as an engineer with a designer’s eye, including pixel-level attention to detail, visual polish, design systems, and sensitivity to interaction quality.
- Design execution & translation – ability to create design assets in standard design tools (Figma) and/or translate design intent into high-quality, production-ready implementations in code, maintaining fidelity from concept through delivery.
- Design & research org experience – experience working within design organizations or closely alongside designers and researchers.
- Cross-disciplinary communication – effective communication skills with experience collaborating across Design, PM, Engineering, and Research.
- Tooling & internal systems – experience building tools, plugins, or internal systems that extend design and prototyping workflows.
- Physical–digital exploration – exposure to hardware, IoT, or physical–digital prototyping.
- 0–1 environments – experience working in startup, incubation, or early-stage environments and thriving amid ambiguity.
- Product influence – experience shaping product direction or strategy through early technical exploration and prototyping.
- Windows platform familiarity – familiarity with Windows UI frameworks (WinUI / Windows App SDK), Fluent design principles, and desktop application architecture.
#W+DJOBS
UX Engineering IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $158,400 - $258,000 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.