Principal Systems Engineer

The Azure Cloud Hardware and Infrastructure Engineering (CHIE) team is seeking a highly motivated Principal Systems Engineer to work in a team of other hardware and software developers to create systems and modules to be deployed in Microsoft’s Azure Cloud.  Microsoft provides ample opportunities for developers to have an impact on products that touch the lives of millions of users daily, in a cutting-edge public cloud environment.   

As a Principal Systems Engineering team member, you will work directly with engineers across cross-functional teams and deliver hardware designs from concept to data center deployment to support Microsoft Azure AI/ML infrastructure.  Responsibilities will include interacting directly with Microsoft’s services teams, cross-discipline design teams focusing on the functional interfaces and developing system requirements, development strategy, validation & test cases and deployment processes.  This is an opportunity to leverage and grow your existing hardware design/validation experience and provide innovative E2E hardware solutions to Microsoft Cloud.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.   

Required/Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience
  • OR Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 7+ years technical engineering experience
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Experience with developing Accelerator hardware and associated components field 
• Experience with hardware, firmware, management firmware, and/or software (system & application stack) interfaces across all modules in a system.    
• Development/ Validation experience in high speed technologies like PCIe, DDR5/6, Ethernet, Data Centre elements with an understanding of low speed interfaces, SOC Emulators, JTAG debuggers.

Other Requirements:

• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications  

• Ability to work across multiple disciplines (hardware, firmware, software, and/or data center infrastructure) to identify risks, drive discussions, detail system tradeoffs, and assess impact.  
• Hands on experience developing GPU, FPGA based accelerator platforms for AI/ML used cases 
• Knowledge of high-volume silicon (SoCs, GPUs, or FPGAs), compute, storage, and/or networking design, manufacturing, and deployment.  
• Experience with highspeed interfaces such as PCIe, DDR, and ethernet.  
• In depth experience with operating systems (Windows and/or Linux), system firmware (BIOS, BMC), and system security (hardware and software).  
• Knowledge in virtualization technologies 
• Knowledge about datacenters & operations at scale.  
• Experience managing hardware programs through the entire product lifecycle.  
• Strong verbal and written communication and presentation skills.  

Hardware Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $137,600 - $267,000 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $180,400 - $294,000 per year.   

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:    

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until January 29, 2025.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the .

#AHSI #SHPE24MSFT #SCHIE

• Collaborate with architecture, silicon engineering, firmware, hardware design, hardware validation, OS (operating systems), manufacturing, and customer teams to build state-of-the-art accelerator hardware solutions.   
• Analyze new interfaces and subsystems to develop integration plans, analyze power efficiency, debug integration issues, and provide recommendations.  
• Define system behavior and concept of operations for the platform to ensure compatibility with Microsoft Azure datacenter software, serviceability, telemetry, and customer expectations.  
• Perform NUDD (new, unique, different and difficult) technology and feature analysis and provide risk assessment and mitigations.   
• Drive technical requirements and ensure the solution is flexible and scalable across the full (HW/FW/SW) stack.  
• Enable platform and solution level discussions, influencing architecture of the product, and delivering to product goals across quality, reliability, and performance.  
• Collaborate with internal, external, and open-source partners to onboard innovative technologies in a seamless manner.