Microsoft · 1 day ago
Principal Hardware Engineer
Redmond, WA
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$140K/yr - $275K/yr
7+ years expMicrosoft is a leader in cloud infrastructure and technology, and they are seeking a Principal Hardware Engineer to join their Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering team. The role involves leading product delivery, driving technical decision-making, and influencing solutions for next-generation AI infrastructure.
Agentic AIApplication Performance ManagementArtificial Intelligence (AI)Business DevelopmentDevOpsInformation ServicesInformation TechnologyManagement Information SystemsNetwork SecuritySoftware
Responsibilities
Lead end-to-end product delivery from concept through launch, ensuring technical excellence and timely execution
Drive cross-functional technical decision-making across architecture, silicon, firmware, hardware, OS, validation, and manufacturing teams
Define and manage program baselines in partnership with TPMs, including scope, schedule, budget, and change control
Own quality of design deliverables and ensure alignment with system-level requirements and performance goals
Influence platform, rack, and datacenter-level solutions for next-generation AI infrastructure
Evaluate and de-risk NUDD (New, Unique, Different, Difficult) technologies and features through structured analysis and mitigation planning
Collaborate with internal and external partners—including open-source communities—to integrate innovative technologies seamlessly
Articulate architectural and design tradeoffs across electrical, mechanical, thermal, and cost dimensions to optimize for TCO, performance, and scalability
Work closely with validation engineering team, systems engineering team and manufacturing engineering team to drive issues found during test to closure
Qualification
Required
Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 7+ years technical engineering experience
OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience
OR equivalent experience
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
10+ years of relevant experience in system (compute, storage, networking, and/or accelerator) level design and/or implementation across the hardware development lifecycle
10+ years of hands-on experience in server hardware architecture, design, and development with solid understanding of hardware, firmware, and Operating System (OS)
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
Proven experience in AI and GPU system development, including design, validation, and deployment at scale
Broad technical expertise across electrical, mechanical, thermal, power, signal integrity, and system security domains
Deep understanding of high-volume silicon (SoCs, GPUs, FPGAs), compute, storage, and networking systems, including manufacturing and deployment
Hands-on experience with high-speed interfaces such as PCIe, DDR, and Ethernet, and familiarity with system firmware (BIOS, BMC) and OS-level integration (Windows and/or Linux)
Strong background in datacenter-scale operations and infrastructure, including system-level debugging and root cause analysis
Demonstrated ability to manage hardware programs through the full product lifecycle, from concept to production
Familiarity with AI training and inference workloads, and the ability to evaluate system designs based on TCO, performance per watt, and performance per dollar
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence technical direction
Benefits
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation.
Company
Microsoft
Microsoft is a software corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Microsoft has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (9192)
2024 (9343)
2023 (7677)
2022 (11403)
2021 (7210)
2020 (7852)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$1MKey Investors
Technology Venture Investors
2022-12-09Post Ipo Equity
1986-03-13IPO
1981-09-01Series Unknown· $1M
Leadership Team
Satya Nadella
Chairman and CEO
Vukani Mngxati
Chief Executive Officer - Microsft South Africa
Recent News
2026-01-16
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2026-01-16
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