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