Microsoft International Tech Jobs Blog

One of the very cool jobs we currently have open is a senior opportunity for a Group Program Manager in our new search technology centre in London. Here is the job description to have a look at it, and if you are interested in applying please go to it here: http://www.stceurope.co.uk/

Are you looking to tackle problems at Internet scale? Do you find yourself using Search and being frustrated that you cannot find the right results? Are you interested in international markets and care deeply about presenting a global experience to our customers? Are you looking for a start-up like work environment, but appreciate the backing of an established organization? Do you relish being in the role of an underdog facing stiff competition? You have found the right team!

 The Search Technology Center (STC) Europe is just now being created and this is your opportunity to get in on the ground floor. STC Europe is working in partnership with Live Search and Microsoft Research to deliver innovative Internet Search products and services to the European and global markets.

 The Search Technology Center (STC) Europe – London office is focused on growing the search business in Europe by leveraging the work done in Munich to improve core relevance, extending the reach of search features built by core team and designing new Search features to the European Market.  Working with the core team in Redmond to understand the search roadmap, working with search leads in Europe to bring those core search features to life, understanding the needs of key European markets and developing compelling new features that will drive the search business are the main focus for the team in London.

 Why STC Europe - London?

 We need strong talent on the ground to improve our results and until now we have had only minimal product development resources to support these markets. This is a rare opportunity to join a new team where you can see an immediate impact through your contributions. Europe contains three of the four highest-value, highest volume search markets (UK, Germany, France).  In FY09, a large portion of queries and revenue come from these European markets where Google is dominant with 90%+ search market share.  While our query share is currently very small (<5%), we have significant online assets in these major markets (e.g. Messenger, Ciao) and there are many opportunities to grow our customer base and increase our share.

 The Search Technology Center (STC) Europe is comprised of a team of dedicated leaders and technical contributors passionate about delivering the best search experience for Microsoft customers in Europe and around the world. STC Europe works on a diverse set of projects ranging from ownership of Search in Europe to enhancing the global search platforms. At STC Europe, you will have the opportunity to work with world class researchers from MSR Cambridge and to closely collaborate with world class developers in Redmond, Munich, Paris, and China.

Role & Responsibilities:

STC Europe is currently looking for an experienced Lead Program Manager who can help build and lead a team of 3-4 Program Managers and help direct an engineering organization of 35+ to develop new Search features and launch significant product updates designed to drive the search business in key European Markets. Initially the role would start up as an Individual Contributor role and would be eventually be reassessed into Manager of Individual Contributors role at some point in the future.  We are looking for a high achiever with a track record of success and multi-release Lead Program Management experience.

The position will report directly to the Group Program Manager of STC Europe/London and will play a key role on the Program Management team developing new features for Search and launching new release.   This role will partner closely with the core engineering team in Redmond, the Search leads for each market to and the dev and test leads in UK to design and test new features, develop a roadmap and lead the engineering team to deliver compelling new core features to the key European Markets

For the right candidate this is a rare opportunity to combine International experience, a front line seat in our battle for Web Search in Europe and help define a new group’s charter, culture and roadmap.

Required Qualifications:

Success in this position requires a broad set of experiences and skills, ranging from excellence in core engineering, the ability to deeply engage with customers/partners and build a collaborative working relationship with development, test, design, other PM organizations, as well as marketing and product planning.

You should have proven technical leadership abilities and a strong grasp of software engineering principles, exceptional problem solving skills, experience shipping products or complex product features from the ground-up, and a proven ability to schedule and meet your team’s commitments through an entire product cycle. You should be self-motivated, proactive, and possess the demonstrated ability to come up-to-speed quickly in a new technical domain. Excellent interpersonal communication skills, written communication skills and the ability to work well in a team environment are very important.  Fluency in at least one European language is highly desirable. 

·    You should demonstrate Management Competencies at a required level for Manager of Individual Contributors; Special focus would be on the following competencies: cross-boundary collaboration; setting goals & expectations; developing people; enabling change.

This position is located in the STC Europe London office and requires extensive travel within Europe and to Redmond, USA. 

This description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this position. The actual duties, responsibilities, and qualifications may vary based on assignment.

LG and Microsoft announced an expanded alliance to increase the number of Windows Mobile-powered LG phones as part of a new agreement. As a result, LG will release more than 50 new Windows Mobile phones in the future, 26 in 2012 alone! This will create approximately 50 new jobs. This project will help our Windows Mobile Operator and Mobile Devices Strategy and Commercialization (MDSC) team (part of the Windows Mobile division) drive new and exciting devices to market.

We are currently hiring for three senior technical management roles to help get the project off the ground in Seoul, Korea.  A Program Manager, a Test Manager and a Development Manager. All applicants must have fluent Korean as well as English. If you think you have the skills and are interested please send your CV to Tom Jarosz: tjarosz(at)microsoft.com not forgetting to say that you saw the advertisement of the jobs on this blog.

 As part of the Program Manager job on offer you will need the following requirements:

• 7-10 years minimum of software development experience as a program manager across the complete lifecycle of the product and feature/set, identifying customer scenarios and distilling them into innovative features, adaptable changes (DCRs and bug fixes), and concise, well-written product specifications
• 5-7 years minimum of demonstrated cross-team collaboration with successful execution and shipment of product/device/service
• Excellent negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• Excellent critical thinking and technical acumen
• 5-7 years experience with technologies and software development for mobile devices

For the Test Manager job you will need the following skills:

•  Must be willing to live in / relocate to Korea, with travel to Beijing, Taipei and Redmond
• 7 years (minimum) to 10 years (preferred) of software development experience across the complete product lifecycle with strong knowledge of System Testing.
• 5 years (minimum) to 7 years (preferred) managing teams of Development and or Test Engineers with demonstrated successful cross-team collaboration and shipment of product/device/service.
• A BA/BS/MS degree in a Computer Science, Computer Engineering or related discipline
• Experience with one or more of the following preferred:
• Shipping Mobile Phones, Handset Acceptance for a Mobile Operator, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, or Embedded Systems

And for the Development Manager the following skills are required:

•  5+ years as a people manager
• 10+ years software development experience
• Excellent C/C++ coding & debugging skills
• Strong leadership, communication, and team collaboration skills
• Familiarity with Windows Mobile platform or Windows GDI and Graphic API architecture preferred
• Experience and/or knowledge in building embedded software for mobile phones (CE/Windows Mobile) preferred
• BS or MS degree in Computer Science or equivalent required

Recently one of the recruiters on my team Mathias Connot decided to start Tweeting about the current core tech roles Microsoft has open in Europe. You can follow his tweets at: (http://twitter.com/MSFT_EuropeJobs).

What you will receive will be up to the minute information about Software Development, Software Development in Test, and technical Program Manager job openings in Microsoft Development Centers across Europe in concise, easy to follow tweets by following MSFT_EuropeJobs (http://twitter.com/MSFT_EuropeJobs). Tweets will occur on a weekly basis and include up to the minute information about positions available, locations, desired qualifications and instructions for applying.

Microsoft continues to grow and innovate as a part of the vibrant European Software Community and so will our investment in creating uniquely European solutions, content and tools. Microsoft Development Centers in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, and the UK as well as a number of other offices around the continent employ thousands of Europe’s best and brightest software development professionals working on the next generation of innovative and exciting technologies. From Dynamics, to Office, search, Xbox, Entertainment and Devices, FAST, research, and more Microsoft in Europe is on the leading edge of whatever interests you!

If you’d like to join a company that provides its employees with a highly structured career development plan, and get access to world class internal training courses, and be rewarded for your work by having one of the best salary and benefits packages in the industry, and If you’d like to work on some of the most best and most used software and content on earth, check out  MSFT_EuropeJobs as a new and novel way of getting the latest information on our newest career opportunities.

Please feel free to share this information with any and all of your friends, colleagues or acquaintances who would like to stay abreast of the latest career opportunities at Microsoft in Europe for software development professionals.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discusses Microsoft’s role & investment in Europe:

“With 2,000 scientists, engineers, and software developers working in 19 European Union nations, Europe does have the largest concentration of R&D staff for Microsoft outside of the United States. Every year, Microsoft invests over (US) $600 million in R&D in Europe alone, and that investment is growing … Why a focus on Europe? A lot of discussion tends to focus on China, on Asia and India, but we focus today on Europe because Europe has really become a global center for innovation. Because there is so much great talent in Europe, we will continue to expand our investments in innovation here.”