Senior Software Engineer

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

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

The Firmware Center of Excellence is responsible for Hardware/Firmware for Azure Infrastructure. We are working on the next generation 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.

We are looking for highly motivated Senior Software Engineer with a background in Firmware architecture & design who can influence the partners and drive end to end (E2E) solutions from concept to production. Experience with Platform & System-on-Chip (SoC) Architecture and Design, bring up of SoC, root causing issues at the intersection of multiple subsystems across firmware and hardware.

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.

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, or related technical discipline AND 4+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
  • OR equivalent experience.

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:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
  • OR Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
  • OR equivalent experience.
• 4+ years of professional experience in architecting, designing and developing firmware/software solutions.
• 4+ years of experience with any of the following: Platform initialization, low level drivers for peripherals such as PCIe, I2C, embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC), SPI, USB, Universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UARTs), Memory Management, Scheduling, Interrupts or multi-threading technologies.
• Established track record of shipping high volume consumer devices, along with designing and directing complex architecture that spans multiple technologies from core kernel to the application layer.
• Experience with developing kernel mode and user mode drivers for Operating Systems
• In-depth knowledge of hardware and firmware interfaces
• Collaboration (aligned with team, across teams).
• Passionate about coaching team members and helping them grow.
• Wants new technological challenges and able to deal with ambiguity.
• Problem solving, debugging troubleshooting skills, advanced design, and development skills.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Experience and in Soc, Embedded Linux, U-Boot and Board Support Packages (BSP) porting.
• Effective communication skills and ability to work across multiple disciplines and functions (PM, Test, Hardware Engineers, etc.)

Software Engineering IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $112,000 - $218,400 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 $145,800 - $238,600 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until May 24, 2024.

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 Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

• Design and architect firmware solutions for Cloud Hardware systems, focusing on system-level End-to-End (E2E) design, debugging and troubleshooting.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including hardware engineers, software developers, validation & integration, and product managers to define firmware requirements and specifications.
• Develop and maintain firmware architecture, ensuring scalability, modularity, and maintainability.
• Develop Security threat models for the platform working with vendors & Security teams.
• Stay up to date with industry trends and advancements in firmware technologies, and provide recommendations for improvement.
• Work closely with Microsoft product groups, industry partners and researchers to architect and develop server hardware solutions that meet the requirements for our cloud services platforms at the lowest possible cost of ownership.
• Design and implement firmware modules to support various hardware interfaces, including Universal Serial Bus (USB), Virtual Network Interface Cards (vNIC), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), I3C, Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe), and other related protocols.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to internal developers or external partners to deliver serviceable, reliable, and scalable solutions.
• Contribute to product vision and roadmap by bringing innovation to server manageability ecosystem.
• Perform system-level debugging and troubleshooting to identify and resolve hardware/firmware-related issues.