Research Engineer II

Microsoft
$100,600.00 - $199,000.00 / yr
United States, Washington, Redmond
Feb 24, 2026
Overview AI agents are rapidly becoming foundational across industries, transforming how organizations automate workflows, make decisions, and scale productivity. Unlike traditionalpromptbasedsystems, modern agents can reason, plan, and execute actions autonomously unlocking new business scenarios and operational efficiencies. By 2028, more than1.3 billion agentsare expected to be in active use worldwide, creating not only unprecedented opportunities but also a massive new ecosystem that organizations must govern, monitor, and secure. Agent 365is Microsoft's unified control plane for AI agents-providing a comprehensive platform for agent registry, lifecycle management, access governance, observability, interoperability, and security. TheAgent 365 Tools Teambuilds the tooling, infrastructure, and evaluation systems that empower agents to perform reliably at scale. We are seeking a Research Engineer II to develop core tooling, frameworks, and infrastructure that enable agents to use tools effectively, evaluate tool performance, and drive continuous improvement across the agent ecosystem. Responsibilities Design and developevaluation pipelinesfor both offline and online experimentation, enabling rapid iteration on tool quality. Automate critical performance metrics such as tool success rates,groundedness, latency, reliability, and cost efficiency. Build and operationalize tool comparison frameworks, including scorecards, dashboards, and automated A/B tests, to supportdatadrivenrollout decisions across large fleets of agents. Implement telemetry, logging, andrealtimemonitoring systems to diagnose issues, refine tool interactions, and improveagenttoolperformance over time. Strengthen and scale backend infrastructure by implementing caching strategies,ratelimitingmechanisms, security hardening, and safety filters to ensure tools are robust, secure, andproductionready. Develop packages, and internal tools to streamline tool onboarding, lifecycle management, QA, and integration for partner teams and agent developers. Collaborate closely with Program Managers, Engineering teams, and Responsible AI partners to design, build, and deployendtoendsolutions aligned with safety, compliance, and product requirements. Contribute tolongtermarchitecture and strategy for the Agent 365 tooling ecosystem, influencing standards for tool quality, interoperability, and governance. Qualifications 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. 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: 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 backend services or APIs in a production environment using at least one modern programming language (e.g., C#, Java, Python, or TypeScript). Experience working with large language models (LLMs) or similar AI systems in any capacity (development, integration, or evaluation). Experience deploying oroperatingdistributed systems or cloud-based services (e.g., Azure, AWS, or GCP) in a production environment. #BICJOBS #AGENT365 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.