PFE Development at Microsoft

Premier Field Engineer – Dev/.NET
The purpose of the Premier Field Engineer (PFE) position is to provide Microsoft customers with reliable technical solutions to the complex integration problems associated with business solutions built on the Microsoft platform. The PFE Team supports a diverse variety of technical solutions built with Microsoft technology and products.

Responsibilities: This person will be responsible as the trusted advisor to several of Microsoft’s enterprise level customers. Typical tasks performed in this role include specific problem isolation and correction, user mode and managed code debugging, conducting application design and supportability reviews, performance tuning, baseline analysis, application stability consulting/troubleshooting, code reviews, porting/migration assistance, configuration management, pre-rollout testing and general development consulting.   The prospective PFE candidate should draw upon all resources at Microsoft, to advise and consult on the use of Microsoft technologies to avoid such problems in the future and should be able to deliver training and knowledge transfer at customer sites on the knowledgeable technology.

As a part of a small dedicated team to these customers, the engineer will be expected to deliver timely and in-depth incident resolution focusing on root cause analysis and prevention of future issues. As a part of this analysis, the engineer is expected to develop strategic plans for improving the customer’s environment from a reactive culture to a dynamic infrastructure. The DSE will work with all levels inside the customer’s organization, so they will be responsible for developing and maintaining excellent relationships with many different technical and business leaders. This requires cross-team collaboration with others inside the Microsoft organization to ensure the customer receives the right solution for their issues and has a clear path moving forward. The DSE is one of the primary communication points for customer issues relating to their messaging environment, so customer satisfaction is a top priority through effective, clear, and concise communication, both on a technical and business level. A part of this will be case management, following up on escalations, and finding the right resource to assist in related issues. Inside Microsoft, the DSE will maintain a solid working relationship with the account team, primarily the Technical Account Managers, by communicating technical, political, and any other possible issues as needed and providing frequent customer updates.

Long term, the DSE will develop support plans, assist MCS with projects at the client, and help coordinate the delivery of post-mortem assessments. As a part of a team, the engineer will be expected to perform internal knowledge transfer to other DSE team members, locally and remotely.
The PFE position requires a list of technology experience or demonstrated understanding of these technologies.   The ideal PFE skill set is grounded in a solid understanding of the Microsoft developer solutions.

Core required qualification:
– Deep knowledge of the latest .Net Framework
– Solid experience with managed code debugging
– write sample code in C# or other languages.
– Knowledge of IDE environment including Visual Studio.
– Knowledge of Azure

From this foundation, the PFE position is exposed to many technologies, including but not limited to: .Net Framework (all versions), ASP.Net, BizTalk Server, IIS, SQL Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Foundation, and B2C and B2B applications, development with .NET languages, C#, VB.Net, C/C++, XML and PowerShell, COM/DCOM/COM+, MSMQ, data access technologies, transaction processing, networking. Practical Win 32 user mode debugging and managed code debugging are preferred skills.

Candidates must have exceptional customer service, problem solving, and communication skills, and the ability to work in a team environment. Must have sufficient technical depth to communicate with development and other internal organizations at a peer level as well as convey technical concepts to non-technical individuals. Must possess the ability to work with minimal supervision and operate as a self-contained business unit within the PFE team. Must have the ability to work independently and as part of a team.   Strong business background in Fortune 500 and/or experience with systems technology consulting firm preferable.

Qualifications: 4 year technical degree (or equivalent work experience) in addition to 5+ years in a technical support in the main technology. Current MCSE is preferred. Candidate must have effective verbal, written, and presentation skills at all levels of an organization. The role requires strong personal organization, time management, and project management skills. Additional knowledge of competing products is a plus.

Overnight travel is required. Travel requirements vary regionally and could be as much as 40-70%. Candidates must possess current passport or be able to obtain passport within 90 days of hire. They must be available for travel.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, marital status, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected status.