Principal Firmware Engineer

Overview

Microsoft Silicon and Cloud Hardware Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) is the team behind Microsoft’s expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” mission. SCHIE delivers the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsofts over 200 online businesses including Bing, MSN, Office 365, Xbox Live, Skype, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with its server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering trusted experiences to customers and partners worldwide, and we are looking for passionate engineers to help achieve that mission.

Are you passionate about working on cutting edge technology in a team that embodies the growth mindset? Are you hoping to join an organization which is built on the mission “To empower every person and organization on this planet to achieve more”?

The Firmware Center of Excellence org in SCHIE is responsible for building Hardware/Firmware for Azure Infrastructure. We are working on the next generation of Hardware/Firmware for server, silicon, and rack infrastructure with a focus on innovation in firmware technology to secure Azure infrastructure for Microsoft and their customers. Our team works closely with AI and Azure-Core teams for the architecture and development of Cobalt and Maia systems in Azure Data-centre.

We are looking for a highly motivated Principal Software Engineer with a background in Firmware development in embedded systems.

Responsibilities

• Drive architectural vision and strategic direction for backend firmware systems supporting AI accelerators such as MAIA. Ensure scalability, performance, and security across SoC platforms.
• Mentor and guide senior and junior engineers in firmware development, debugging, and optimization. Provide technical oversight across multiple subsystems and components.
• Serve as the primary technical liaison between hardware/software architects, software development teams, validation, and integration groups to align firmware development with overall product goals.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends in cloud firmware and AI hardware. Propose and prototype innovative solutions to enhance product capabilities and operational efficiency.
• Lead complex system-level debugging efforts, conduct root cause analysis, and perform performance tuning across hardware and firmware boundaries.
• Own the complete firmware development lifecycle—from concept and design through bring-up, validation, manufacturing, and productization. Ensure delivery of high-quality, production-ready code
  
  

Qualifications

Required :

• Bachelors or masters degree in computer science, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related field.
• 12+ years of professional experience in firmware or embedded software development, with a strong focus on multicore systems and scalable architecture.
• 4+ years of experience of working with High-Speed Ethernet Controller Firmware/Software. Expertise in Ethernet MAC and Network Transport Layer protocols, traffic management, QoS configuration, and performance optimization etc.
• Proven track record of leading complex SoC bring-up efforts and delivering production-grade firmware solutions.
• Expert-level proficiency in C/C++/Rust, with demonstrated experience in designing and optimizing low-level firmware components.
  
  

Preferred

• Deep understanding of computer architecture, including processors, buses, memory hierarchies, and interconnects.
• Strong understanding of CPU execution modes, memory coherency, protection mechanisms, interrupt controllers, virtualization, and related architectural concepts.
• Hands-on experience with secure bootloaders, platform initialization, and board support packages.
• knowledge of hardware accelerator software design, including integration with SoC components and system-level performance tuning.
• Extensive experience with (RT)OS scheduling, firmware development in multithreaded SMP and heterogeneous computing environments.
  
  

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.

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

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