Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon have launched PRAISE, a remote training program pairing early career engineers with senior mentors and CMU courses to build AI-accelerated software skills.
In the gaps between his online lectures on machine learning and software engineering, Jace Watson isn’t crossing Carnegie Mellon University’s campus to find a study spot. Watson is based in Seattle, working full time as a software engineer at Microsoft—while simultaneously taking Carnegie Mellon coursework through a new joint training effort designed for early career engineers.
The initiative, called the Preceptorship for AI-accelerated Software Engineering (PRAISE), is a partnership between Microsoft and CMU aimed at helping newer software engineers adapt to an industry where AI tools are quickly reshaping daily development work. Watson said the shift happened faster than his undergraduate education could keep up. When he began college, AI was just becoming broadly available to everyday users; by the time he graduated, it was increasingly clear AI would be central in professional software roles. After joining Microsoft, he found AI tools embedded in routine engineering tasks and sought structured instruction to learn how to use them effectively.
PRAISE gives selected early career Microsoft employees the chance to take remote courses offered through CMU’s Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science while receiving guided, hands-on mentoring inside Microsoft. Participants—referred to as “preceptees”—are paired with senior Microsoft engineers who serve as “preceptors,” providing structured coaching and helping engineers apply AI-accelerated practices directly to their everyday work. Alongside that mentorship, participants can enroll in CMU computer science courses emphasizing software engineering and artificial intelligence.
CMU School of Computer Science Dean Martial Hebert framed the program as a way to bring rigorous computer science instruction to learners outside traditional, full-time campus pathways—particularly professionals trying to keep pace with rapid change. He said CMU and Microsoft see workforce readiness as a shared responsibility, and PRAISE as a novel approach to meeting that need.
The concept took shape after Mark Russinovich, a CMU alumnus (ENG 1989, 1994) and Microsoft Azure’s chief technology officer, deputy chief information security officer, and technical fellow, visited CMU’s School of Computer Science in October 2025. During the visit, Russinovich discussed how AI tools can significantly amplify the productivity of experienced engineers, but argued that junior engineers often don’t see the same gains. He emphasized that even as AI transforms software development, it does not remove the need for early career engineers—or the importance of human judgment and accountability. He described PRAISE as a model that blends Microsoft’s on-the-job engineering environment with CMU’s academic depth, and said he hopes other industry and university partners will replicate it.
Faculty involved in the effort point to a broader industry challenge: tasks traditionally handled by junior engineers have historically been an important pathway for building expertise. Michael Hilton, a teaching professor in CMU’s Software and Societal Systems Department (S3D), said pairing academic research with real-world development constraints can help create training that is both evidence-based and practical.
This semester, Microsoft employees in the CMU PRAISE certificate track are taking Machine Learning in Production and Preceptorship in AI-Augmented Software Engineering I, courses focused on integrating machine learning into software systems and using AI tools as part of the development process. In its announcement, Microsoft described the judgment around when—and how—to rely on AI as an ongoing learning need, and said the collaboration with CMU is intended to build that judgment through formal curriculum.
Why it matters
As AI becomes embedded in standard engineering workflows, early career developers risk missing foundational skill-building opportunities that once came through entry-level tasks. Programs like PRAISE aim to close that gap by combining academic instruction with workplace mentorship, potentially reshaping how large employers train new engineers. Watch for whether the model expands beyond Microsoft—and whether it measurably improves junior engineers’ productivity, confidence, and accountability in AI-assisted development.