Pratik Pandey badged into the office on the evening of Aug 19 and was found dead in the early hours of the following morning, according to a family member. — Unsplash
A 35-year-old Microsoft Corp software engineer has died at the company’s Silicon Valley campus.
Pratik Pandey badged into the office on the evening of Aug 19 and was found dead in the early hours of the following morning, according to a family member who has spoken with Microsoft and requested anonymity to discuss a personal matter.
He was known to frequently work late into the night, the family member said. The cause of death is still pending, according to the Santa Clara County medical examiner.
"A joyful soul with a radiant smile, Pratik loved playing soccer, great son & friend,” reads an announcement for a viewing service in the Bay Area scheduled for Thursday.
The company declined to comment. Microsoft is still investigating the death, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Pandey worked on Microsoft’s Fabric product, which is used to analyse data and competes with companies like Snowflake Inc. He reported up through cloud and AI chief Scott Guthrie, an executive vice president.
Before joining Microsoft in 2020, Pandey worked stints at companies including Walmart Inc and Apple Inc, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was an alumni of San Jose State University.
Memories and well wishes about Pandey flooded social media this week as the news spread. The family and community members have been working to get his body returned to India, where his parents live.
Police responded to the scene at about 2am on Aug 20. They found "no signs of any suspicious activity or behaviour”, and the death is not being treated as a criminal investigation, according to a spokesperson for Mountain View Police. – Bloomberg
