This told essay is based on conversations with Navya Jamaramadaka, 27, a software engineer at Microsoft who lives in Redmond, Washington. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Although I’m still early in my career, I’ve seen software engineering roles change significantly.
Previously, I would go to work and code for 5-6 hours a day without the help of AI tools. Currently, my job is similar to that of an architect: I teach AI to write code while designing systems.
At Microsoft, we’ve definitely pushed the adoption of AI. My AI usage increased around the beginning of last year when many tools became available internally. I spent the first half of 2025 focused on experimenting with AI and learning what it can do, and the second half on incorporating AI into my workflow, including using AI to review code.
GitHub Copilot has become my go-to tool for coding suggestions and debugging. My work is still reviewed by senior engineers, and AI has really helped me.
I joined Big Tech two years ago.
My journey to Microsoft began in 2023. That’s when I decided to pursue a dream that everyone in this industry seems to have at least once: working for Big Tech.
At the time, I was working as a software engineer at a consulting firm in Connecticut. While I was applying for jobs at large technology companies, the founder of a small technology company contacted me about a software engineer position in San Francisco. This seemed very appealing. I didn’t hear back from most of my applications to big tech companies, so I decided to stick with it. I ultimately accepted the offer and moved to San Francisco to begin the role in January 2024.
I was generally happy with my role, but I didn’t give up on my Big Tech dream. I’ve started receiving responses from applications I submitted last month to several large technology companies. Many of them were before starting a new job. I continued to apply elsewhere while interviewing at Apple, Meta, and Tesla.
In February of that year, I applied for a software engineering position at Microsoft. I was introduced by an NYU alum I connected with on LinkedIn. I successfully interviewed for the role and the process went quickly. After my interview with the recruiter, I knew I would be moving forward the same day. I then had four more interviews and received and accepted an offer within a few weeks.
This hybrid role required me to work out of the Seattle office, so I had to leave San Francisco. San Francisco was a city I really liked and wanted to stay here. However, I felt the opportunity was worth the move, so I relocated and started the role in May 2024.
How to use AI to manage engineering pressures
Using AI tools has reduced the time spent on tasks such as navigating large codebases and writing boilerplate code. But for me, the benefits of AI are not about time savings. That’s because successfully leveraging AI still requires a lot of judgment, including carefully considering suggestions and knowing when to trust and when not to trust. It’s not just doing the same work faster. This allows you to focus your energy on higher level problem solving.
Fortunately, I don’t suffer from “AI fatigue”, or burnout from heavy use of AI, like some engineers. But I know that many engineers in the technology industry, including those early in their careers, are feeling extra pressure to meet deadlines right now.
I think AI can alleviate some of that pressure by speeding up tasks like debugging and understanding code. That doesn’t mean work won’t be tiring, but it can help make things more manageable.
One of the ways that AI is most useful is by helping us understand the large Microsoft codebase that has been around for more than a decade. As an engineer new to the scale of Microsoft’s systems, I was initially intimidated. But after asking the AI enough questions, it began to understand the code better.
Advice for young job seekers
I think people are wondering about the future of software engineering roles, but I think human engineers are still very much needed. No matter how much you train an AI, it’s difficult for it to understand the full context of what you’re trying to accomplish.
Although AI has been very helpful, the support and guidance of senior engineers who have worked at Microsoft for many years was still important to me.
One piece of advice I give to young job seekers is to connect with as many people as possible on LinkedIn. I’ve found it helpful to apply for a job and then contact people at the company to let them know I applied and why I’m interested. I think this will be beneficial for the interview.
We also recommend optimizing your LinkedIn profile. When a recruiter clicks on it, they may be able to review it in a matter of seconds. Make sure you have a portfolio section with your best projects highlighted. The goal is to make people think, “Wow, this person is doing something amazing.”
Finally, I think it’s important for aspiring software engineers to remember that the role is changing rapidly. You may have learned traditional coding in college without the help of AI, and your traditional coding skills were evaluated during a job interview. These skills are valuable, but if your employer expects you to use AI, you need to be prepared for it.