Cloud Principal Hardware Engineer
About The Position
Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) delivers the infrastructure and foundational technologies behind Microsoft’s online services and Azure. Within SCHIE, the Azure Memory and Storage Center of Excellence (AMS CoE) provides memory and storage solutions for cloud servers and leads Azure Fault Prediction and Detection (AFPD), a platform that predicts, detects, and repairs hardware failures across the Azure fleet. The Cloud Principal Hardware Engineer will scale AFPD across hardware components in the Azure fleet and lead hands-on hardware resiliency for the platform. The role covers the full server platform, including storage, memory, power supplies, CPUs, GPUs, NICs, HBAs/FPGAs, cabling, and other critical components. The engineer will turn hardware, firmware, and OS telemetry into failure detection and prediction, support targeted repairs, and use repair outcomes and supplier analysis to improve platform rules and models. The position has broad impact on fleet availability, customer uptime, and cloud infrastructure resilience.
Requirements
- Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and 7+ years of technical engineering experience; or bachelor’s degree in one of these fields and 8+ years of technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience.
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including passing the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.
Nice To Haves
- 10+ years of experience in server hardware reliability, failure analysis, or fleet resiliency at cloud or datacenter scale.
- Technical depth in the failure modes of at least one server component type, with working knowledge across the rest of the server, including BMC, PCIe, and firmware.
- Experience turning failure signatures into automated detection rules, fault codes, or repair procedures for a large fleet.
- Experience with predictive maintenance or anomaly detection on hardware telemetry, including setting precision targets and automated repair actions.
- Proficiency with Kusto (Azure Data Explorer) or SQL, and Python or PowerShell, for large-scale telemetry analysis.
- Experience using or applying AI-powered tools, machine learning technologies, or advanced analytics for engineering analysis, troubleshooting, or process improvements.
- Experience with NPI and hardware qualification for server platforms.
Responsibilities
- Lead failure analysis across server components by characterizing failure modes using fleet telemetry and logs, and confirming root causes through repair results and supplier failure analysis.
- Define signals, thresholds, targeted diagnostics, and repair procedures; work with component teams on root cause analysis.
- Improve failure isolation accuracy and the effectiveness of detection and repair services.
- Partner with software engineers and data scientists on detection rules and prediction models, establishing precision targets and validation gates before production deployment.
- Use AI-powered tools and data-driven insights to analyze hardware failures, identify emerging reliability trends, and proactively improve server performance and availability.
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions with server component teams, including firmware fixes, and feed learnings back into the platform.
- Serve as the senior hardware escalation point for live-site incidents, from triage through root cause analysis and fleet-wide mitigation.
- Prepare new server generations and AI/GPU platforms for production with detection, isolation, and repair coverage at launch.
- Track and improve metrics, and mentor engineers across the team.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
