Director, Silicon Design

Job Title

Director, Silicon Design

Role Summary

Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) designs custom silicon and SoC IP that power Microsoft’s cloud services. The Director will lead subsystem and IP teams to deliver high-performance, efficient silicon for cloud-scale deployments.

The role combines technical leadership, cross-functional collaboration with architects and verification teams, and people management to meet quality, delivery, and scalability targets.

Experience Level

Senior — requires substantial leadership and technical experience. Preferred experience includes multi-year RTL/SoC design leadership and prior people management.

Responsibilities

Lead a subsystem/IP design organization to deliver production silicon and IP for cloud infrastructure.

• Deliver custom IP and SoC designs that meet performance, efficiency, and manufacturability goals.
• Build, hire, mentor, and develop engineering teams; support career growth.
• Manage subsystem design activities with focus on architecture and microarchitecture.
• Provide technical leadership for one or more subsystems and drive design decisions.
• Translate architectural specifications into RTL and coordinate with design verification (DV) teams.
• Drive cross-team component reuse and coordinate handoff to physical design and manufacturing.
• Apply engineering processes including code reviews, sprint planning, and feature delivery.

Requirements

Relevant technical, security, and collaboration requirements. Degrees and years-of-experience are captured under Education Requirements below.

Must-have:

• Proven track record delivering IP/SoC designs (examples: PCIe, DDR, HBM or comparable subsystems).
• Strong expertise in microarchitecture specification, RTL coding, and collaboration with verification teams.
• Experience with synthesis, timing constraints, power/performance/area (PPA) trade-offs, and post-silicon debug.
• Familiarity with design quality checks, DFT implementation, and handoff to physical design.
• Ability to meet Microsoft and customer security screening requirements, including periodic background checks.
• Ability to provide documentation of citizenship or residency as required for access to export-controlled information.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience leading IP or subsystem teams for CPUs, VPUs, GPUs, DMA engines, tensor units, or similar blocks.
• Experience working on AI/ML SoCs and across cross-functional, cross–time-zone teams.
• Scripting proficiency (Python, Perl, or similar) for automation and tooling.
• Prior people management experience and track record of mentoring engineering teams.

Education Requirements

Doctorate (PhD) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field + 3+ years technical engineering experience; OR Master’s degree in those fields + 6+ years; OR Bachelor’s degree in those fields + 8+ years; OR equivalent practical experience. Fields specified: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical fields.

About the Company

Company: Microsoft

Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States

Microsoft is a global technology company that develops and sells software, services, devices, and solutions. Known for its Windows operating system, Office suite, and Azure cloud platform, Microsoft aims to empower individuals and organizations around the world to achieve more. The company fosters a culture of innovation and inclusion, focusing on delivering trusted experiences to customers and partners globally.