Cloud Principal Hardware Engineer

Microsoft • Aliso Viejo, CA

3d

About The Position

Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) delivers core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft’s online businesses, including Azure, through server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions. The Azure Memory and Storage Center of Excellence (AMS CoE) provides memory and storage solutions for Azure 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 works across the full server platform, including storage, memory, power supplies, CPUs, GPUs, NICs, HBAs/FPGAs, cabling, and other critical components. It turns hardware, firmware, and operating-system telemetry into early failure detection and prediction, coordinates workload migration from failing nodes and targeted repairs, and uses repair outcomes and supplier failure analysis to improve detection rules and models. The engineer will set hardware direction for a platform that affects production infrastructure at scale and partner with Azure engineering teams, component teams, and hardware suppliers to improve fleet availability and customer uptime.

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 or a related field 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 in server hardware reliability, failure analysis, or fleet resiliency at cloud or data center 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 to support 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 from fleet telemetry and logs and confirming root causes with repair results and supplier failure analysis.
• Define signals, thresholds, targeted diagnostics, and repair recipes, working with component teams on root-cause analysis.
• Improve failure-isolation accuracy and the efficacy of detection and repair services so repairs address the source of failures.
• Partner with software engineers and data scientists on detection rules and prediction models; set precision targets and validation gates before rules or models act on production nodes.
• 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 lessons back into the platform.
• Serve as the senior hardware escalation point for live-site incidents, from triage through root cause and fleet-wide mitigation.
• Prepare new server generations and AI/GPU platforms for production by ensuring detection, isolation, and repair coverage at launch.
• Track and improve metrics and mentor engineers across the team.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal