Microsoft

After graduating from college, I joined Microsoft as a full stack software engineer in the Digital Security and Risk Engineering organization. I was excited to finally put my knowledge to use and learn more as I grew in the company. Initially, imposter syndrome set in as I was unsure if I was fit for a place like Microsoft, but I knew I could contribute my own knowledge, learn more, and critically think to overcome this feeling.

My first project was a brand new one called Identity Pass, which was built from scratch under the Access and Certificate Team. As a newly hired college graduate, I was eager to work on a project that allowed me to use all my education right from the beginning. Identity Pass focused on the onboarding process for new employees and as a credential recovery service for existing employees, contributing to Microsoft's password-less mission. We ended up winning 3rd place for this project in our organization's Hackethon during the Summer of 2019!

I worked closely with my team to design architecture that was scalable, maintainable, and adaptable for new business requirements. We applied various software design principles and introduced micro-services by refactoring our giant service. I gained experience in client-side development, backend-side development, and database work. Initially, we provided our solution through a React JS web application, but due to new business requirements, we switched towards a React Native application for both iOS and Android. We used DOT NETCORE for the backend. We also utilized Microsoft's Cloud Service, Azure, to host our solution, and I gained a lot of cloud experience through this project. Additionally, I learned about software design principles and how to refactor our services into microservices. As a result, I gained a full-stack experience, and I was able to deliver our app to the Apple and Google store through Microsoft's process, which was a significant accomplishment.

As a full stack software engineer at Microsoft, I also developed a COVID-related project to help transition employees back to the office. This involved integrating the project with an existing React Native mobile app and a data ingestion pipeline solution. Despite the challenge of onboarding and ingesting data for over 60,000 users, we were able to successfully complete the project without any service outages. Additionally, I designed a domestic solution that could be adapted globally as regulations change by region, ensuring that our solution was scalable and adaptable to changing circumstances.

Overall, I am grateful for the opportunity to work at Microsoft straight out of undergrad and be part of such a fantastic team that encouraged collaboration and teamwork while also supporting my growth and learning.