New Xbox VP Assisting CEO with Major Engineering Challenges Departing After Just Three Months

Xbox’s VP of engineering, Jared Palmer, is set to leave for Cognition, an applied AI lab. You might be asking, “Who is he?” Good question. Palmer joined Xbox to work closely with Asha Sharma, focusing on enhancing the platform’s developer tools and infrastructure. He was appointed to her leadership team during a management reshuffle in May. So, why is he making this move just three months later?

In a personal update shared on X, he stated, “I’ve joined Cognition to lead engineering. I’m grateful to Asha Sharma and everyone at Xbox for an amazing year. Excited for this next chapter with Scott Wu and the team.” Palmer, who joined Microsoft’s CoreAI team last October, didn’t provide further details on his decision.

He was among several individuals mentioned in a memo from Sharma in May, which outlined various personnel changes and promotions. She recognized him as a “product leader who understands modern development, including where tools can remove friction and help teams move faster.”

Sharma added, “He’s spent his career building developer tools that remove friction and increase productivity. That’s exactly the mindset we want, using technology to support creators.” In his role on the engineering team, Palmer reported directly to Sharma, tackling complex product and engineering challenges with a focus on developer tooling, taste, and infrastructure.

Perhaps those challenges have already been addressed, or maybe he received an irresistible offer from Cognition. The startup, which secured $21 million in funding from a prominent venture capital firm in 2024, is already valued at over $4 billion and has developed an AI coding tool called Devin. It seems to be generating more buzz than whatever projects Xbox’s engineers are currently engaged in.

Palmer previously compared the transition from human programming to agentic software development to learning how to play Guitar Hero instead of the actual guitar. Neither Palmer nor Microsoft has commented on this development.