Ben Hillis
Principal Software Engineering Lead at Microsoft
Seattle, Washington, United States
Summary
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Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolBen Hillis is a Principal Software Engineering Lead at Microsoft with over a decade of experience driving low-level systems work and team delivery, particularly on Windows Subsystem for Linux and the Windows Bridge for Android. He brings deep C# and C expertise alongside practical OpenGL knowledge, and has owned testing for kernel components such as synchronization primitives, threadpool, registry and power subsystems. Ben leads a team focused on kernel component testing and power automation, improving battery and subsystem reliability across Surface and OEM devices. He has contributed to the widely referenced microsoft/WSL-DistroLauncher by enhancing system integration, non-interactive installs, build processes and ARM64 support. Based in Seattle, he pairs hands-on engineering with inclusive team leadership and a track record of turning tricky kernel-level requirements into robust, testable systems.
10 years of coding experience
14 years of employment as a software developer
The University of Utah
Stackoverflow
1reputation
0reached
0answers
0questions
Github Skills (8)
c-language10
ws-api10
cprogramming-language10
wsl210
winapi10
wp-api10
arm8
build-automation7
Programming languages (10)
Github contributions (5)
microsoft/WSL-DistroLauncher
Feb 2018 - Dec 2022
Sample/reference launcher app for WSL distro Microsoft Store packages.
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:1 release, 7 reviews, 22 commits in 4 years 10 months
Contributions summary:Ben primarily contributed to the development of a launcher application for WSL distros, focusing on core functionality and system integration. They modified the application's behavior to align with changes in the WSL environment, particularly regarding command execution and optional component dependencies. The user's contributions also include improvements to the build process and non-interactive installation workflows, improving user experience and deployment flexibility. Additionally, the user made modifications to support ARM64 architecture.
microsoft-storewsluwp-apps
benhillis/openvmm
Oct 2024 - Jul 2026
Home of OpenVMM and OpenHCL.
Contributions:175 pushes, 162 branches in 1 year 9 months
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