Windows Application Developer - Partner Engineer

Type: Contract, per-project.
Location: Remote - within LATAM time zones (GMT-3 to GMT-5) - Remote with meetings across U.S. time zones
Availability: Contractor (40 hours per week)

Windows Application Developer - Partner Engineer
We’re looking for a Windows Application Developer - Partner Engineer to join our Windows Ecosystem Enablement team. This role is focused on helping strategic ISV partners bring their desktop applications into the Windows ecosystem and the Microsoft Store.

You will work directly with senior engineers, solve complex packaging and platform issues, build reference implementations, and navigate Microsoft’s internal teams to unblock partner success.

This is not a traditional Windows developer role. We are looking for someone with deep understanding of the Windows ecosystem—someone who understands how software is packaged, distributed, installed, and integrated at the OS level.

Core Responsibilities
1. Microsoft Internal Navigation

• Work across Microsoft teams including Windows Store, WinGet, and product groups.

• Identify the right internal stakeholders, escalate technical blockers, and drive solutions spanning multiple teams.

2. Commercial Software Distribution

• Background working at companies that ship and distribute commercial software products.

• Exposure to packaging, deployment, signing, Store submission, and operating system integration.

• Candidates with experience limited to internal business applications (e.g. CRUD systems, back-office tools) without exposure to commercial software distribution will not be a fit for this role.

3. Windows Ecosystem Depth

• Understanding of installers, drivers, OS-level APIs, software packaging, and Windows platform integrations.

• Deep understanding of how Windows behaves under real-world constraints (installation restrictions, group policies, driver conflicts, update dependencies, and system-level limitations).

4. Proactivity / Problem-Solving Definition

• Ability to independently reproduce issues, create sandbox environments, and build reference implementations.

• Proactively investigates and reproduces complex issues with ambiguity (e.g. spinning up sandboxes, isolating root causes, and proposing solutions independently).

• Strong problem-solving skills across low-level platform issues and technical ambiguity.

5. Outreach Expectation Clarity

• Support outreach efforts to software vendors not yet publishing in the Microsoft Store.

• Help qualify leads, follow up with ISVs, and support partner adoption initiatives.

• This role includes a non-trivial outreach component (approximately 15–20% of time), requiring engagement with external partners, identifying decision-makers, driving adoption conversations and assisting them during the process.

6. Role Positioning

• This is not a traditional Windows developer role.

• This is not a feature-development role, success is defined by problem-solving, ecosystem expertise, and partner enablement rather than building production applications.

• We are looking for someone with deep understanding of the Windows ecosystem, someone who understands how software is packaged, distributed, installed, and integrated at the OS level.

7. Tech Stack Simplification

• Experience across one or more Windows application models (e.g. Win32, .NET, WebView2, PWAs), with the ability to quickly adapt across packaging and distribution approaches.

• Experience writing scripts using PowerShell to automate processes.

Required Experience

Strong Windows Ecosystem Background

• 5+ years of experience working with Windows applications and desktop software distribution

• Strong understanding of software packaging, Windows platform integrations, OS-level APIs, and familiarity with installers and driver-related concepts, with ability to quickly ramp up on deeper packaging technologies.

• Experience across Win32, .NET, UWP, WebView2, PWAs, or similar desktop architectures

Commercial Software Distribution Experience

• Background working at companies that ship and distribute commercial software products

• Exposure to packaging, deployment, signing, Store submission, and operating system integration

• Experience only building internal business systems is not enough for this role

Prototyping & Troubleshooting Mindset

• Ability to independently reproduce issues, create sandbox environments, and build reference implementations

• Strong problem-solving skills across low-level platform issues and technical ambiguity

Strong Communication & Ownership

• Comfortable working directly with clients and senior engineers

• Able to explain technical tradeoffs clearly and drive solutions proactively

• Strong ownership mindset with a bias toward action

Nice to Have

• Experience with MSIX, unpackaged apps, Xbox-to-Windows migration, PWA packaging, and Windows Store publishing

• Familiarity with installer technologies such as WiX

• Experience with GitHub Actions, SDK fixes, and CI publishing workflows

• Data pipeline literacy (Spark, Fabric, large-scale systems)

• Experience using AI tools like Copilot for prototyping and workflow accelerationPrevious Microsoft experience is a strong plus