This role pays more than
69%
of similar roles. Most pay
$149,500–$188,277
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$177k
versus about
$169k
for comparable roles.
Based on 240 similar postings.
Employer
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology leader producing software, hardware, and cloud services including Windows, Office 365, Azure cloud platform, Xbox gaming, and Surface devices. Industry: Software & Cloud Computing
Microsoft currently has
598 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 586 roles with salary data.
As a Senior Software Engineer on the Microsoft Surface Devices team, you will focus on the security, reliability, and performance of low-level software. You will work within the Windows Driver in Rust space to harden foundations, patterns, and tooling while transitioning systems toward Rust as a first-class language. Your daily responsibilities include designing and implementing kernel-mode and user-mode drivers using the windows-drivers-rs framework, managing memory-safety boundaries, and performing complex root-cause analysis through WinDbg and ETW tracing. You will collaborate with hardware engineers and system architects to solve problems at the firmware and hardware boundaries. The role requires deep expertise in Rust, including unsafe Rust and FFI/interop, alongside experience with Windows Driver Kit, OS primitives like memory management and scheduling, and the application of AI-native development practices across the software lifecycle.
What does a Software Engineer earn?
Median $197500 from 2196 postings across 133 companies.
Design, implement, and ship kernel-mode and user-mode Windows drivers using Rust and the WDR framework.
Lead architectural design decisions for Rust driver systems including memory-safety boundaries and FFI/interop with C/C++ code.
Perform complex root-cause analysis using WinDbg, ETW tracing, and memory-dump analysis across hardware and firmware boundaries.
Develop and maintain automated test suites to ensure the quality, performance, and stability of driver code.
Integrate AI-native development tools and practices throughout the software development lifecycle to improve engineering efficiency.
Implement security-as-code practices to ensure all layers of the driver and service stack meet safety requirements.
Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and system teams to define features for high-volume consumer products.
Create actionable project roadmaps by breaking complex tasks into manageable components for stakeholders.
What we're looking for
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field and 4+ years of technical engineering experience in languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python.
Master's Degree in Computer Science and 6+ years of experience, or a Bachelor's Degree and 8+ years of experience including Rust (preferred).
Deep expertise in Rust, including unsafe Rust, FFI/interop, ownership, lifetimes, and building safe abstractions over low-level APIs.
Experience with the windows-drivers-rs (WDR) framework, Windows Driver Kit, and WDM/WDF/KMDF/UMDF driver models.
Experience in design, implementation, debugging, and testing of Windows operating system drivers and system software.
Hands-on experience with kernel debugging, memory-dump analysis using WinDbg, and ETW/tracing across hardware boundaries.
Working knowledge of OS primitives such as memory management, scheduling, interrupts, threading, and ACPI.
Experience with AI-assisted development tools, hardware/software co-design, and contributions to Rust or systems open-source projects (preferred).