Building a Web-based Interactive Query Builder at Microsoft

Abstract

Over the summer after my junior year, I spent twelve weeks interning at Microsoft, a multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, WA. During this time, I learnt various new technologies and was exposed to a unique work environment which aided my learning. I worked for the IDEAs (Insights, Data, Engineering and Analytics) org, which deals with all the data Microsoft collects from its users. More specifically, I was working on the Pharos project, which eliminates the need for Microsoft's data analysts and scientists to code config files, by allowing them to create the code using an interactive website instead. These SQL-like config files are used to access Microsoft's database called Cosmos. I worked on various aspects of this website, improving user interfaces and user experience by adding new features and components. During my internship, I gained a significant amount of knowledge about the end-to-end development of a software product. I also gained experience working in a large corporation, interacting with employees, and understanding the teamwork required to successfully shop a large product. Additionally, I learned the importance of consistently improving the product based on user feedback. By virtue of being placed on a fast-moving team, I gained hands-on experience with some of the latest frontend and full-stack technologies (including React, TypeScript, and Redux) which has helped grow my software building skillset exponentially; I have also been able to directly channel that experience into my personal and school projects. In this paper, I will holistically describe my experience at Microsoft and deep dive into my responsibilities, project design, and the new technologies I learned and applied. I will also describe the challenges I faced and how I overcame them, as well as the impact of the internship on my future career plans. Overall, my internship at Microsoft was a valuable and rewarding experience that taught me a great deal about the software engineering industry and the work of a professional engineer.