Family of 35-year-old Microsoft engineer who died at work begs Silicon Valley to stop overworking staff

The family of a young Microsoft engineer who died at work is pleading with Silicon Valley firms to stop overworking their employees.

Pratik Pandey, 35, of Menlo Park, Calif., badged into Microsoft’s Mountain View office at 7:50 p.m. on Aug. 19 – and was found face-down in the campus’ courtyard around 2 a.m., his uncle, Manoj Pandey, told the Palo Alto Daily Post.

An initial report by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner indicated he likely suffered a heart attack, according to Satish Chandra, an IT worker and community leader in Santa Clara running for city council.

He didn’t have any known health issues leading up to his death, but had told his roommate and colleagues that he was under a lot of stress – juggling multiple projects at the same time, Chandra told the local newspaper.

Pandey’s uncle urged tech firms to keep track of employees working late at night and take steps to relieve their anxiety.

“That will probably save a life,” he said. “It’s a lot of pain for the family when a loved one passes away.”

Police officers found “no signs of any suspicious activity or behavior” at the scene, and the death is not being treated as a criminal investigation, according to the Mountain View Police Department.

Microsoft declined to comment on whether it was still investigating the matter.

The Mountain View Police Department did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Pandey was known to frequently work late into the night. He was a hard-working young man, with a love for soccer, ping pong and cricket, his uncle said.

“Overall, a very positive person,” he added.

Pandey was born in Indore, India, and immigrated to the US about a decade ago to earn his master’s degree from San Jose State University.

He worked as a software engineer at Apple, Illumina and Walmart Labs before landing a job at Microsoft in July 2020. He worked on Microsoft’s Fabric product, a data analytics platform.

Pandey’s uncle told the Palo Alto Daily Post that the family is sending his remains to India, where the young engineer’s parents and two sisters live.