Microsoft wants to hire thousands of of tech professionals worldwide this year, including 2,400 software engineers and researchers, as well as 400 more in its general IT division, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to Dice News. In the U.S., the software giant is seeking software development engineers, program management engineers and software testing engineers. Also, the company needs 47 user experience engineers and 21 content publishing engineers. Microsoft's gaming division is currently looking to add 48 software engineers as it builds a new Xbox 360 Halo video game. In the IT category, which develops for back-end business applications and programs, the company is looking for IT software test engineers, IT operations program managers and service engineers. Microsoft is undergoing a managerial shake up since CEO Steve Balmer pushed out key executives and began looking for more product managers with engineering experience. The move is part of Redmond's push to focus on cloud computing, smartphones and tablet computers. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a joint partnership with Nokia to create smartphones and services. Microsoft is also looking for human resources people to help recruit for these positions, as well as sales positions for the Xbox 360, Windows Phone, Windows and Windows live. -- Chandler Harris