Principal Firmware Architect

Job Title

Principal Firmware Architect

Role Summary

Principal Firmware Architect on Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE). Own firmware architecture and requirements for Microsoft Azure custom silicon programs, partnering with silicon, board, and firmware teams to define secure, testable, and scalable platform capabilities.

Drive architecture from early design through validation and release to support platform initialization, security, manageability, telemetry, recovery, and operational readiness at cloud scale.

Experience Level

Senior-level. Typically 8+ years of relevant technical engineering experience.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include:

• Define firmware architecture, subsystem interfaces, and requirements that align with Azure service needs and platform roadmaps.
• Provide firmware requirements and architectural guidance to silicon, board, and platform integration teams.
• Develop security requirements and threat models for firmware features and cross-domain interfaces.
• Drive architecture reviews and technical decisions across boot, platform initialization, manageability, security, telemetry, and recovery.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure designs meet reliability, performance, security, and operational objectives at cloud scale.
• Define expected firmware behavior, feature coverage, and acceptance criteria to support validation, bring-up, and release readiness.
• Diagnose and resolve complex architecture and integration issues across silicon, board, and firmware boundaries.

Requirements

Must-have and preferred skills (must-have items listed first):

• Must-have: Proven experience defining firmware architecture and requirements for complex hardware platforms and driving cross-team technical decisions.
• Must-have: Experience partnering with silicon architects and board engineers to ensure firmware requirements are feasible and testable.
• Must-have: Experience developing firmware security requirements and threat models.
• Must-have: Ability to define validation criteria, support platform bring-up, and perform root-cause analysis across silicon and board boundaries.
• Must-have: Ability to meet Microsoft and customer security screening requirements (e.g., Microsoft Cloud Background Check).
• Nice-to-have: Strong coding experience in C, C++, Rust or similar low-level languages; experience with Python or scripting for automation and tooling.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with boot firmware, RTOS-based firmware, pre-silicon work, platform initialization, manageability, telemetry, and recovery features.
• Nice-to-have: Familiarity with hardware interfaces and protocols such as PCIe, I3C, I2C, SPI, and USB.
• Nice-to-have: Experience aligning firmware to cloud service requirements and influencing architecture across multiple product teams.

Education Requirements

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