Tracy Sharpe is a Distinguished Engineer working in the Xbox team.  Sharpe was one of the first software developers to start working on Xbox back in 1999, where he transformed the Windows kernel into the base of the Xbox operating system, including the scheduler and file systems.  He was responsible for extending that kernel to the Xbox 360 platform, plus developing several new device drivers for the system.  Now an avid gamer, Sharpe helps design and improve the features and performance of the console, while also working hard to increase his gamer score.

Sharpe’s career at Microsoft began in 1991, when he was an intern providing MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 product support.  He moved over to product development, working on plug-and-play features for what became Windows 95, and continued this work when he was hired full-time in 1994.  He joined the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine team in 1996, first as a developer, then advancing to a development lead. He served temporarily as the interim group manager before shifting back to a pure engineering role.

Sharpe holds a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering Technology from the Oregon Institute of Technology.  His senior project was the Registry Editor for Windows 95.