{"id":22855,"date":"2026-04-02T09:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=22855"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:51:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T23:51:48","slug":"olutunde-makinde-from-lagos-to-redmond-a-microsoft-it-engineers-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/insidetrack\/blog\/olutunde-makinde-from-lagos-to-redmond-a-microsoft-it-engineers-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Olutunde Makinde: From Lagos to Redmond, a Microsoft IT engineer\u2019s journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A career in Microsoft Digital, the company\u2019s internal IT organization, puts employees at the center of one of the world\u2019s most complex and forward\u2011leaning enterprise environments. This is the team that runs Microsoft on Microsoft technology and services\u2014maintaining more than a million computing devices, enabling global collaboration, and shaping the employee experience for more than 200,000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To accomplish these huge tasks, it\u2019s essential to cultivate a range of perspectives, expertise, and lived experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olutunde Makinde is an example of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cA friend once laughed at me back in college when I said I wanted to work at Microsoft, like it was impossible. But I knew I could achieve the impossible if I could just be focused. I never gave up.”<\/p>\nOlutunde Makinde, senior service engineer, Microsoft Digital<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Makinde, a senior service engineer in Microsoft Digital, came to the company the long way around\u2014roughly 7,000 miles away from the Redmond, Washington, headquarters, in fact. He\u2019s originally from Lagos, Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a global organization, Microsoft builds teams where people with different experiences and life journeys actively influence how products, services, and internal platforms are designed. Makinde, commonly known around the office as \u201cTunde\u201d (\u201crhymes with Sunday,\u201d he notes), embodies that diverse approach, bringing his unique insights and experiences to critical work at the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA friend once laughed at me back in college when I said I wanted to work at Microsoft, like it was impossible,\u201d Makinde says. \u201cBut I knew I could achieve the impossible if I could just be focused. I never gave up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launching an IT career in Nigeria<\/h2>\n\n\n\n