Firmware Engineer

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

10d • $102,100 - $202,200

About The Position

Microsoft Silicon and Cloud Hardware Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) develops and operates infrastructure and foundational technologies supporting Microsoft's online businesses and Azure platform. The Azure team seeks a Firmware Engineer to develop, debug, and validate next-generation firmware for Microsoft AI accelerators and cloud silicon platforms. The role focuses on silicon firmware libraries for compute domains and high-bandwidth memory solutions, requiring knowledge of SoC architecture, low-level firmware, silicon bring-up, hardware/software co-design, and platform initialization flows. The engineer will own firmware libraries for multiple IPs or subsystems and collaborate with hardware architects, validation engineers, security teams, and platform firmware and software teams.

The position includes designing firmware libraries and frameworks, collaborating on silicon specifications and designs, leading IP firmware first-silicon bring-up, debugging and root-causing issues, defining verification plans, and validating libraries on pre-silicon simulation and emulation platforms.

The role is classified as Firmware Engineering IC3. The typical U.S. base pay range is $102,100–$202,200 per year. A different range applies in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metropolitan area: $133,800–$219,200 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. The position will be open for at least five days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until filled. Applicants must meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including passing a Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field and at least 1 year of technical engineering experience; or bachelor's degree in one of these fields and at least 2 years of technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor's or master's degree in Computer Science, Electronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 3–5 years of hands-on expertise in firmware development, embedded systems, or SoC development.
• Strong understanding of memory and I/O subsystems within server-class SoC architectures.
• Experience developing silicon or firmware IP and platform firmware solutions.
• Ownership of the end-to-end firmware development lifecycle, from design and implementation through validation and production delivery.
• Proficiency in C/C++ and Python for developing robust, efficient, and scalable firmware.
• Foundation in bootloader design, platform initialization sequences, and silicon abstraction layers.
• Technical knowledge of network controllers and high-performance computing subsystems.
• Hands-on silicon bring-up, debugging, and root-cause analysis using JTAG, Lauterbach TRACE32, and other industry-standard debugging tools.
• Familiarity with pre-silicon validation platforms, including ZeBu, FPGA, and VHS.
• Knowledge of Azure hardware platforms and their underlying architectures.
• Understanding of AI accelerator silicon and associated firmware requirements.
• Background in confidential computing, security firmware, and hardware-based security technologies.
• Proficiency with hardware emulation platforms such as ZeBu, HAPS, Palladium, and Veloce.
• Ability to optimize firmware performance, implement telemetry solutions, and troubleshoot complex system-level issues.
• Working knowledge of Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS) architecture and design principles.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop silicon firmware libraries for HBM, compute, and SoC infrastructure subsystems.
• Work with silicon architects during specification and design phases.
• Develop scalable and maintainable firmware frameworks and APIs.
• Own IP firmware libraries and participate in firmware first-silicon bring-up activities.
• Debug and perform root-cause analysis for firmware, hardware, performance, and validation issues.
• Define firmware verification requirements and test plans.
• Validate silicon firmware libraries in pre-silicon simulation and emulation platforms.

What This Job Offers

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