In my last post I mentioned that we would be touring the globe visiting some of our international development centers. Our first stop: Oslo, Norway. Take a moment to find out more about one of the 'Softies that works at this location and what he works on. Some pretty interesting stuff happens on our campuses around the world!

All the best - Anne

‘Softie in Question: Sveinar Rasmussen
Position at Microsoft: Principal SDE
Group: Search Foundation, IEG
Location: Oslo, Norway

Tell me more about the Microsoft offices in Oslo?
The offices here are nice. Last year (2011), a few areas in the offices here were refurbished. A sip of coffee in the new library is relaxing between the coding sessions – and there is a foosball table too, kicking back with games and consoles. The atmosphere is relaxed but with lively loud discussions sometimes. The cantina food is great with a huge selection of salads plus a hot dish every day. On most Fridays there are plenty of cakes to counter those healthy salads, too! It’s balanced.
 
What is it like to work at Microsoft in one of our subsidiary offices compared to working in the US Headquarters?
Despite its Redmond-centric past, I feel that Microsoft is embracing the subsidiary offices quite well. With extensive use of Lync, the practical difference isn´t huge. Being a subsidiary, I believe we are in on the action. Naturally, we cannot attend the yearly huge company meeting in person - but we do get the luxury of attending these meetings from the comfort of our chair. Another thing that I feel is very heartwarming and respectfully impressive: Redmondians happily suggest Lync outside their working hours. We get the same employee benefits like a fantastic free Windows Phone 7 device... and discounted Kinect sensors and games etc.
 
What was the reason you considered applying to Microsoft?  How did you find out about the specific role you are currently in right now?
I would claim that Microsoft is a company for us engineers. And with the focus on delivering quality software, I feel that one can truly be proud of what Microsoft is doing to stay relevant in the technology sector. The competition is fierce, but we are tenacious. But with certain innovative products in the market now like Office 2010, Windows 7, Xbox360, Kinect, Bing and Windows Phone 7, there is a huge customer base that follows. When you have so many users of our products, the impact of this great engineering playground offers a great place to work building the next version of Office.

I have been writing search engines for over a decade. Microsoft acquired our team here back in 2008. The role I have today is mostly the same as it has been all along - having fun, learning and building a platform to help people with finding stuff they need. Being a principal software engineer for enterprise search is rewarding. I blessed with skilled co-workers here with strong problem solving abilities, expertise in server side development with emphasis on scalability, reliability and security.

Any tips to job seekers around the world interested in relocating to Oslo and working at Microsoft?
Oslo is not a big city, the weather isn’t particularly warm during the Norwegian winters... but the working atmosphere that Microsoft offers, the friendly warm people in our distributed group coupled with the joy of tech = makes my day. Maybe it will do the same for you, too?

Geek in question: Steve Kaplan

Job title: Program Manager at Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC) in Hyderabad.

Other titles: Runner. Marathoner. The fastest engineer at the MSIDC.

Upon shipping CRM 2011, Steve Kaplan sat at his desk at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond pondering his next step. A few months later, he logged in from his new desk at Microsoft’s India Development Center (MSIDC) in Hyderabad.

Although working and living on the other side of the planet, Steve took with him his passion for adventure, technology and hardcore distance running.  He also took a passion to learn from India and his new co-workers.

I spoke with Steve via Lync to find out why he made this move and what makes him tick.

Did you always know you wanted to work for Microsoft?
Growing up, I was always passionate about technology and Microsoft software was always in my house. As a teenager, I read every book by Bill Gates and thought that working at Microsoft sounded cool.

How did you first start working here?
During my junior year at Carnegie Mellon, I did an internship at MSN Money. It was an amazing experience. I got to build real things and ship a real product. I had an offer to come back again as an intern, but instead I went to Salesforce.com for my next summer to work in their Professional Services group. I wanted to try something different while the stakes were still low.

I learned a lot there too, but also decided that I most wanted to build products. Microsoft was and is really one of the best places for a grad to be an engineer, particularly as a PM. You truly learn how to ship large software at scale. Just as McKinsey might be like finishing school for business types, Microsoft is the same for software nerds.

Tell us about your first role at Microsoft and how it led you to India.
I started as a full-time employee in the CRM product group in 2008. I worked on the team for 3 years and got a ton out of the experience – learning, learning, learning. But after 3 years and shipping CRM 2011, I was ready for a change.

Half of our team was based in Hyderabad and after meeting some of the team who were visiting Redmond, I got the idea that I would like to work as an engineer in India.

What was it that drew you to India in particular?
I’ve always been fascinated by India  – it is the world’s largest democracy and has such rich cultural history. At the same time, I was also looking to work outside of my normal comfort zone – as that’s when I have some of the most interesting experiences.

What was the process of getting the job and moving?
I met with the Group Program Manager from Hyderabad while he was in Redmond and interviewed then. He was interested, so I did a field trip to India for two weeks to try to wrap my head around what I was about to do.

I decided to go for it. Microsoft was extremely supportive in terms of logistics. They shipped all of my stuff. I had a stipend for relocation expenses and even a relocation consultant. The consultant helped me to get the lay of the land, including a car, apartment and a driver. Incredibly, this made it possible for me to be in the office and getting stuff done on day one.

How does working at MSIDC compare to working in Redmond?
As someone who grew up in the US, there is so much wild stuff happening here in India that work is actually the most familiar thing to me. From the physical campus to the work culture, it is very similar to Redmond. Specifically at MSIDC, it is amazing to see the deep engineering contribution teams are making to several Microsoft products from CRM to Office to Bing. MSIDC is truly a key location in Microsoft’s global shared development strategy.

And you’ve continued your outside-of-work interests in India too?
Running has always been a passion of mine and I’ve brought that with me, even to India. I’ve been training five to six days a week. I recently ran the Hyderabad Marathon, traveled to Berlin for another and am now competing in all of the major distance races in India. I just completed the Mumbai Marathon this past weekend and finished 6th in the open race.

Since I’ve been in India, I’ve met a lot of local runners online. And through them I’ve figured out times and places to run. It is important to go early in the morning here before it gets too hot and the streets get too crowded or noisy.  This actually forces me to be much more disciplined about my running and I have to say that I think I am in the best running shape of my life.

Do you meet other North Americans who have moved to India to work in tech?
I’m surprised that there aren’t more young people doing something like this, especially considering all that is happening in India. I think this is really an amazing opportunity.

What’s next?
China? Maybe.  I love that I can work in different countries and get these experiences all within Microsoft while still being focused on building the best products.

 

Inspired by Steve's story? Here are the top engineering positions open at MSIDC. Take a look. You might be suprised at what you find!

Group Program Manager, Microsoft Office Division 

Principal Test Manager, Microsoft Office Division
 
User Experience Manager, Microsoft Office Division

User Experience Designer, Bing 

Test Manager, Online Services Division  

Senior Test Lead, Windows 

Senior Development Lead, Microsoft Business Solutions 

Partner Director SDE, Server & Tools Business

Partner Development Manager, Server & Tools Business 

I've got good news for International job seekers interested in Microsoft software development opportunities, but not ready to relocate Stateside: we have jobs in the places you live!
 
This is the first in a series to showcase some of our global development centers and development teams. They are working on a wide variety of different technology and products with the team sizes range from big to small. The one thing that they all have in common is that they have huge impact on products that are used around the world. I'm looking forward to sharing the interviews and pictures from these places around the world.
 

So keep an eye on JobsBlog for my posts over the next months as we go around the world  - meeting the people who build the software we use. Our first stop next week will be in Oslo, Norway.
 
In the meantime, for a listing of all of our development opportunities – visit the below links.  There may not be openings right now in all of these locations, but join the Talent Network and get notified as opportunities become available within your location and technology interests.
 

Canada:  Click Here
China:  Click Here
Europe:  Click Here
India:  Click Here
Israel:  Click Here
Japan:  Click Here
For all other positions and locations:  Click Here
 
Thanks all – hope this helps you find that job you’ve been looking for….it is possibly closer to home then you thought!
 
-Anne

Geek in question: Shannon Loftis

Job title: Studio Head – Good Science Studio

Shannon Loftis can barely walk ten steps on campus without someone waving to her, saying hello or shouting her name. Since starting as a temp at Microsoft in 1992, Shannon has spent almost 20 years rising through the ranks of gaming and making more than a few friends and admirers along the way.

As the head of the company’s prestigious Good Science Studio, her team was tasked with creating the original games for Xbox Kinect. Good Science’s first release was Kinect Adventures, which shipped with every first-generation Kinect.

I met up with Shannon to find out the secret of her ongoing success in one of the most desirable and competitive areas in the tech industry.

How did you get your start in gaming?
In the mid 90s, I was doing database design and project management for Microsoft. The story I heard was that Bill Gates was really into playing online bridge and decided that we should have a version of the game on the then-emerging technology of MSN.

I came to games to work on that project, which evolved into a virtual card table, which evolved into an online gaming service, which evolved into a lot of other new things. At the same time, Microsoft was ramping up in sports games, flight simulation games, and was inventing new ways of PC gaming.

You must have seen gaming change quite a bit since then.
Gaming is big business these days. It is huge compared to other types of entertainment - even movies. The industry has a lot of creative brilliance and with Kinect we are really pushing the boundaries of technology. The technology is just so much more powerful now, and we can do so much more for people.

While some people dismiss gaming as too violent or just for kids, there is much more to it than that. It’s critical work. Entertainment is a fundamental human need, and gaming is a great way to give people a moment of pleasure and enjoyment in an otherwise stressful day. Life gets faster and faster paced and interactive entertainment is a great release.

There are a lot of other game studios out there. Why have you stayed with Microsoft?
I fell in love with the culture and still find it intoxicating that everyone around is so smart and is somebody you can learn from.

That and Microsoft’s huge range of opportunities. You never find yourself at a dead end here. There’s always something new and exciting and the company keeps evolving. For example, it is the only company that could pull off something like Kinect.

How did Good Science start?
A bunch of people started working on Kinect when it was still “Project Natal” back at the end of ‘08. All that we had at that point was a rudimentary camera duct-taped to a very expensive PC with a high-end graphics card. It was up to us to turn that into a consumer-friendly product.

I was working for Microsoft in the United Kingdom at the time and the company asked me to move back to Redmond to start Good Science in ‘09. Our goal was to figure out what kinds of experiences were best to introduce Kinect to the world.

And how did you structure the studio?
Good Science bridges the gap between incubation and research. The goal was to make a team of flexible creative generalists. We wanted to find the best way to introduce the world to full-body, no controller gaming and no-barriers UI. Hence, Kinect Adventures. And we’ve got some great new stuff in store too.

How many people work at the studio?
The size of Good Science is wildly variable as it expands and contracts depending on the projects at hand. At the smallest it can be 45 people and at the largest it is about 75.

So, it’s like its own startup within Microsoft?
Microsoft is a fairly fractal company, so teams must know how to stand on their own. Good Science has a ton of creative freedom, like a startup, but we’re able to tackle big challenges and boldly move forward with the support of Microsoft.

Unlike a lot of startups, we have the focus and depth to make really big bets.

Did you know right away that you were onto something huge with Kinect?
We had lots of challenges to overcome but knew pretty quickly that what we had was magic. Seeing the crowd reaction when we showed it off at E3 in 2009 was one of the most exciting experiences of my life.

Do you plan to stay in gaming for the rest of your career?
It’s likely too late for me to cure cancer or go the moon, so this is still my shot at deep, fulfilling work.

Kinect is already profound and will be even more so in the future. For example: there is a Kinect “hack,” Jewel Mine, that helps rehabilitate people who have had strokes as the interactive movements can repair neural damage.

This is all just the start. I look forward to being along for the journey.

A few months ago we published a brief story on a contest we were running at Microsoft that challenged our employees to tell us why they loved working here in a video of 10 seconds. 10 seconds is not so much time when you think about it. But our US winners were impressive in their creativity.

The contest was also run with our offices globally and we now have the exclusive video from the international winners. Check out the moving, hair raising, and downright heart felt submissions by the winners from our offices around the world. Congratulations!

After viewing the films, take a moment to customize your job search experience with us! You can sign up for individualized job agents and be notified of upcoming events. It only takes a few minutes and it's all here right now!

Emel Ozturk - Microsoft Dubai

Leo Shum - Microsoft China 

Basar Guner - Microsoft Istanbul

The end of the year is a blur of traditions, predictions, champagne, diet resolutions, family time and, of course, annual “best of” lists for everything and anything you can imagine.

As we don’t want to be left out in the cold, we’ve compiled a list of the Top Ten Microspotting profiles featured on JobsBlog in 2011. With one twist; our list goes to eleven.

This year, we interviewed lone employees who pioneered roles as female developers and employees overcoming challenges. We also got to know groups like Microsoft’s a cappella choir and couples who found love at the company. We met those who are exploring the frontiers of technology and others who are educating the next generation of tech innovators. And, of course, we sniffed out the unexpected from the former NFL prospect who went pro at Microsoft to the employee who moonlights as the mascot for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks (and uses the position to raise money to fight multiple sclerosis).

Without further fanfare, here is the list of our favorite Microspotting stories from 2011. The stories are not ranked in any particular order, but all are sure to inspire.

1. Ben Martens, North America’s most ambitious ski bum

2. Our Valentine’s Day tribute to love found at Microsoft

3. Janet Galore, explaining the future of technology

4. Ryan Asdourian, Microsoft’s #1 Seahawks fan and superhero fundraiser

5. Ed Donahue & Ashley Myers, two-time Imagine Cup finalists and Microsoft co-workers

6. Sue Loh, inspiring future coders through retro gaming

7. Betsy Speare, blazing trails and building community for female developers

8. Jenny Lay Flurrie, embracing disability, finding success and helping others do the same

9. Boris Erickson, Xbox LIVE’s Enforcement Unicorn Ninja (yes, you read that correctly)

10. Albert Rocker, former NFL prospect goes pro at Microsoft

11. The BaudBoys, Microsoft’s Kings of Geek-A-Cappella

It’s hard to recap all the incredible projects ‘Softies dedicate their time to over a year in addition to their work commitments (though we do try!), but I wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to all the folks that spend time mentoring young women through our DigiGirlz program.

2011 was an remarkable year for this program with over 5,100 participating students in locations around the US and the world – Spain, Ecuador, Singapore, Denmark and Jamaica – to name just a few.

DigiGirlz, if you aren’t familiar, is a program run by Microsoft that gives high school girls the chance to learn about careers in technology, connect with Microsoft employees, and get hands on with computers and technology through one day workshops and High Tech Camps.

 

It may come as no surprise, but women are still extremely underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). An August 2011 report by the U.S. Department of Commerce indicates that although women fill close to half of all jobs, they hold less than 25% of STEM jobs. 

As Catherine Ashcraft, a senior research scientist at the National Center for Women & IT, said in an article about the Charlotte, N.C. DigiGirlz camp written for Diverse Magazine, “There are messages that girls get either subtly or not so subtly about who are the kinds of people who do technology. In popular culture it’s often not girls who do the inventing.” And, when they do develop an interest in technology, Ashcraft also talked about the lack of role models. “They find they are often the only girl in the class. It’s intimidating and difficult for them.”

That is where Microsoft’s commitment to DigiGirlz comes in as an early effort to change perceptions of women in STEM related careers.

This amazing lineup of guest speakers and dedicated Microsoft volunteers – all serving as role models, all making valuable contributions in the world through technology – are opening young women’s eyes to the variety of opportunities available in the high-tech industry and to all the things they can accomplish.

As one girl commented on her evaluation form after listening to a workshop session, “It really inspired me to do something extraordinary with my life.”

As I've mentioned before, the Microsoft News Center (MNC) is a great place to check out the latest official news about our company. But they are also running an incredible series about the engineers behind the amazing products at our company.

James Drage, Ricardo Espinoza, Joshua Phillips and Sue Loh - who we profiled here on JobsBlog for her work with high school students - sat down with an interviewer at the MNC to talk about their groundbreaking work on Windows Phone's new look, Mango, and life beyond Microsoft.

Of course you can always read the full article here, but I can't help but highlight my favorite portion of the piece for you here. Especially since it goes to the heart of why I think working at Microsoft is so phenomenal; it's all about the impact. So get a little taste in this excerpt and then head on over and read the full story to see how else these engineers are creating extraordinary experiences every day.

MNC: What’s the thing you’re most proud of about your work?

Drage: I’m proud of the people I’ve managed and mentored to help make this a better company. While I’m not currently a people manager directly, I have been in the past, and that experience has always rubbed off on me. I feel you can always be five or 10 times more effective if you help other people to grow. I’m also proud of the products we’ve put together, especially Windows Phone. I talk to people a lot about their cell phone, and I always get really positive feedback about the Windows Phone that we’ve built.

Espinoza: I’d have to agree with that. I like to walk into the stores and see the Windows Phone displayed, knowing that I helped to build it. It makes me proud to see the phones out there in the field.

Loh: Yeah, the impact we’re able to have on other people’s lives is really amazing.  From my years on Windows CE and Windows Phone, there are literally millions of devices out there running software I’ve worked on. I’ve loved the interaction I’ve had with OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], software developers and end users over the years. I’ve been proud to influence so many peoples’ lives.