Drew Linerud

Principal Software Engineer at Microsoft

Tech owner of the Windows voice-activation platform — the system powering "Hey Copilot" on modern Windows PCs. I design and ship the Windows platforms that other engineers depend on every day.

Duvall, Washington · [email protected]

About

I work at the layer of Windows where platforms meet products. For the last cycle that's meant owning the Windows voice-activation platform — the system that lets you say "Hey Copilot" to your PC and have something useful happen. Before that I architected Windows Text Input Virtualization and contributed to the modern Windows IME framework that powers input for 100M+ monthly users across China, Japan, and Korea — alongside reliability work addressing tens of millions of crashes across the global Windows install base.

The throughline of my career is building Windows platforms that other engineers depend on every day — quietly, reliably, at scale. I care about the interfaces between teams almost as much as the interfaces between components, and I care about shipping things that outlast the org chart that birthed them.

Outside work I ride bikes, play speed chess, and write science fiction and fantasy. The writing turns out to be excellent practice for the era where natural language is the primary medium of software design.

Selected work

Windows voice-activation platform ("Hey Copilot") Tech owner

Single technical point of contact across Microsoft AI, Surface, Windows audio, and silicon partners (Intel, Qualcomm, AMD). Drove the HW-vs-SW keyword spotting power decision that delivered a 50–100x efficiency win — a key driver of the Surface "PC you can talk to" claim.
Windows Text Input Virtualization Architect

Multi-release platform delivering high-fidelity, like-local text input inside Windows containers and remote sessions. Authored the 92-page MS-RDPETXT public RDP protocol, engaged Citrix as a third-party adopter. MS-RDPETXT spec →
Modern Windows IME platform Contributor

Contributed to designing and building the modern Windows IME framework, including parts of its WinRT API surface. The platform powers the Windows inbox IMEs serving 100M+ monthly users across China, Japan, and Korea.
Windows input reliability Multi-cycle lead

~40% prior-cycle reduction in ctfmon Watson crashes plus ~50M additional crashes addressed this cycle across the global Windows install base.
MonoMano Creator (Microsoft Hackathon)

One-handed typing IME for users with limb difference or hand injury. Built as an accessibility incubation project.

Reach out

I'm happy to talk to engineers about Windows platforms, voice and input, navigating big-company technical strategy, or shipping things that outlast you. Email is the fastest way to reach me.