Principal Security Engineer

Job Title

Principal Security Engineer

Role Summary

Principal Security Engineer on the Systems Planning and Architecture (SPARC) team within Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure. Responsible for silicon security architecture and the design of low-level hardware accelerators, participating across design, manufacturing, supply chain, and large-scale deployment.

Experience Level

Senior-level. The role requires a minimum of 6+ years of technical engineering experience; 10+ years of experience designing security-critical code is preferred.

Responsibilities

Design and deliver secure firmware and hardware security features across product development phases.

• Design and develop firmware for Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), security accelerators, and Root of Trust solutions.
• Define and implement bootloader and embedded kernel architectures for secure system initialization.
• Develop secure firmware for key management, attestation, cryptographic services, and secure boot flows.
• Write, debug, and optimize embedded firmware (RTOS environments) focusing on performance, reliability, and security.
• Diagnose and resolve complex firmware and cross-subsystem issues through root cause analysis and debugging.
• Collaborate with hardware, software, and security teams to integrate secure embedded solutions.
• Ensure compliance with security requirements and industry best practices for trusted computing environments.

Requirements

Key must-have technical skills and security clearances; preferred skills listed separately.

• Must-have: 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python, or equivalent experience.
• Must-have: Experience developing secure firmware, secure boot, and low-level embedded systems (ROM, bootloader, runtime).
• Must-have: Ability to meet Microsoft security screening requirements, including passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check on hire and periodically thereafter.
• Nice-to-have: 10+ years designing security-critical code and experience in pre-silicon environments.
• Nice-to-have: Familiarity with cryptographic algorithms, attestation, secure recovery processes, and hardware interfaces (PCIe, NVMe, I3C, I2C, SPI, SPI-FLAS).
• Nice-to-have: Demonstrable skill in Rust and advanced proficiency in C/C++.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field is listed; the posting allows equivalent practical experience in lieu of a degree.

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.