In the past I’ve talked about being an SDET, specifically for on of the teams in the Developer Tools division at Microsoft. Over the last year I’ve mentioned a few things about working for Microsoft Game Studio and more recently working for XNA Game Platform Extensions. Interested in what I’ve done? Want to know what I know? Or better yet, want to know about upcoming things like the Elite before most mammals do?

I’ve got a job opening for an SDET on my team and I’m looking to fill it with someone that’s passionate about gaming, passionate about testing, and knowledgeable in native C++ and any combination of C# or managed C++. Yes, there’s a ton of coding involved in this type of position along with a ton of test casing and the ability to drive products to their completion – either in a green 360 game case on a store shelf or in the Xbox SDK that enables other people to produce titles.

Interested? Continue reading for the full job description and information about how to submit your resume…

How to submit your resume: go to the Careers section at Microsoft.com. Once you’ve logged in with a Passport and uploaded a resume, you’ll be able to search for positions within Microsoft – search for job ID 182682 and apply.

The job description you’ll find follows…

Our team is the New Technology team of XNA Game Platform Extensions (XGPX) – our technologies are incorporated by the XNA team for title development on the Xbox 360 platform. We’re the team that brought an international tournament and photo competition to PGR3; we’re the team that enabled deliveries through the Viva Piñata post office. We’ve allowed you to run Flight Simulator X without keeping a disc in your optical drive; we’ve helped Zoo Tycoon 2 welcome you with new news as you grow your zoo. If you finished Gears of War and watched the credits, you’ve already seen some of your future teammates scroll by.

Here is a list of some of the games that the XGPX team contributed to, during their development with our gaming studios:
• Viva Piñata
• Flight Simulator X
• Gears of War
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Project Gotham Racing 3
• Zoo Tycoon 2
• Crackdown
• Halo 2 for Windows Vista
• Shadowrun
• Forza 2
• Too Human

Here is what the XGPX team can offer to you:
• You will work with the latest and cutting edge technology around game development, graphic engines, web services, test tools for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows.
• Be a member of an organization that values all disciplines equally: Development, Test and Program Management, and provides lots of opportunity for growth.
• Get an environment where everybody strives for efficiency and performance, investigating all available and latest practices and methodologies, including disciplines like Scrum, Test Driven Development, SDL, etc.
• Have the opportunity to solve complex problems including network access scalability, performance and security, testing of graphics engine functionality, solve technical problems related to the Xbox 360 platform, porting Windows technologies and tools to the Xbox 360 platform.
• Develop new test tools and test software for use on the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. Your code will be run on both platforms and may be included for distribution to customers as part of the XDK.
• Have fun testing and playing the latest Microsoft games, including Crackdown, Shadowrun, Halo 2 for Vista, and upcoming releases.
• Be aware of all that is going on in the Gaming World: Jump In!

Sound interesting? Are you ready for the challenge of joining the game industry? We need you for our New Technology team!

As an extremely technical SDET we want you to create test specifications; develop test automation for the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms; develop test tools; participate in design, code, and security reviews; run static code analysis; and work cross-functionally with our great development and PM teams. You should expect that many of your test tools will end up being used as sample code by the teams developing games and possibly part of public XDK. The products that we focus on are used by developer and testers alike; the work you do will have tangible impact on the entire gaming world. Product development has already started; you can make an immediate contribution if you can hit the ground running!

One of the technical challenges a team member will face includes blending a unique mixture of native C++, managed C++, and C# to author tools and create test automation as we develop new technologies that run on both the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. Other qualifications a successful candidate will have include: demonstrable knowledge of automation frameworks and test tools; passion for testing games and applications; limitless empathy for all customers; strong CS background and OS knowledge; excellent communication and interpersonal skills; great problem solving skills; ability to program in C++ and C#; a huge capacity for dedication and willingness to learn and grow; a BS or MS in Computer Science is required. Our work is very technical and extremely challenging – if you’re up to the challenge, help shape the future of gaming at Microsoft and come in FTW!