Windows 8 Faster, Smaller, and More Responsive than Windows 7
This is something of a challenge for Microsoft, to top Windows 7 performance with Windows 8. Windows 7 did break Microsoft’s tradition of keeping up the pace with Moore’s Law in terms of Windows releases. Could it happen again with Windows 8?
Are you passionate about software performance? Are you excited by the potential to have a positive impact on hundreds of millions of users, by improving their Windows experience? The Windows Fundamentals Performance Test Team is look for a software design engineer who can help us do just that – make future releases of Windows faster, smaller, and more responsive than Windows 7. OS Fundamentals, and specifically performance were a major area of focus during Windows 7 and will be just as important if not more so, during the development of the next version(s).
The Windows Performance team drives improvements in efficiency, scalability and responsiveness for a wide range of client and server scenarios, & for hardware ranging from mini laptops to datacenter class servers, as a key part of the Windows fundamental quality effort. Engineers in the Windows Performance team focus on critical paths and OS components in both user and kernel mode, to hold the line and improve the quality of the performance of the OS during the development process. If you enjoy coming up with original, inventive solutions to hard problems (‘why does my computer performance degrade over time?’), feel strongly about code quality, and want to make a real and tangible impact on the most widely used operating system in the world, please come talk to us.
What does it take to detect, understand, and fix real performance problems in the next generation Windows operating system?
1) Strong mathematical analysis
2) Excellent C / C++ / C# coding skills
3) CS degree or equivalent
4) Passion to take the quality of the next generation windows to the next level
If you possess the above, the Windows Fundamentals Performance Test Team may have an opening for you. We are on the lookout for people with strong mathematical and coding skills in C / C++ / C# to implement performance quality metrics and scenarios for various server and client areas like filecopy, power, and scalability.
The responsibilities of the Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) in this position include planning, designing, and implementing C/C++/C# and scripted performance test automation, infrastructure, and analysis tools for measuring performance. You will learn how to use performance measurement tools and how to analyze and model the behavior of systems under key workloads/tests to find, debug, and root-cause real-world Windows performance bugs. You will also participate in helping evaluate potential performance issues and improvements, and working with feature teams to resolve and implement them, and drive product code performance to excellent quality.
Operating system knowledge is a plus and experience in test automation is desired; you will deepen your knowledge of the core OS internals and increase your experience in architecture, design, coding, and test automation. You will also have the opportunity to work closely with a wide range of people on different Windows feature teams.
We have built a mature performance testing infrastructure to analyze the behavior of the operating system under different tests and workloads, and detect performance bugs, and opportunities to improve performance. And now, we want to take that to the next level. Our role as a team is two-fold in that we are not only improving and enhancing our current infrastructure and test coverage, but we also provide technical leadership and guidance to partner teams to help them improve the performance testing and analysis of their own individual components. We are looking for an SDET that excel in both of those areas.
The candidate will exercise his/her strong technical knowledge of software performance and performance testing to help us define the right metrics for measuring and monitoring the performance of the integrated system, identify the components and scenarios that are critical to measuring and validating OS performance, identify & address any gaps in test coverage that prevent us from getting complete and accurate measurements, and to analyze performance logs and debug uncovered performance issues to find the root cause, potentially prototyping a fix, or working with the appropriate feature team to implement a fix. The candidate would also be key in improving and enhancing our existing infrastructure and tools to minimize noise in perf results and improve the analysis process to ensure that fewer and fewer performance bugs go undetected & unreported.
Strong technical leadership skills would be required to work with other feature teams that do not solely focus on performance, and engage them in a productive manner to help them understand what is required of their teams to ship high-quality, high-performance software. Similarly to identifying the key system-wide metrics that we monitor, you would help each individual team define the key metrics to monitor and analyze the performance of their components, help them design their component and build test plans with performance in mind, and help them implement high-quality tests, analyze the results, debug performance problems, and get them fixed.
The ideal candidate will have more than 10 years for strong technical testing experience – including performance testing expertise and exposure to or experience with common performance test tools, and at least 10 years of experience of product &/or development across several life cycles of a commercial software product; excellent technical, problem solving, analytical, design, and oral/written communication skills; strong leadership skills and the ability to articulate and collaborate on a clear vision with people in all engineering disciplines across multiple teams; self-motivated an ddriven to solve tough technical and business problems; BS or MS degree in computer science, computer engineering, or an equivalent degree.