Senior Computer Architect - Architecture Analysis

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

As part of the Systems Planning and Architecture (SPARC) group, you will help strategize and architect compute platforms, storage and related technologies that create advantages for Azure and Microsoft. You will collaborate across the Azure organization to evaluate next-generation datacenter technologies, influencing internal Microsoft silicon, systems development and industry partners. You’ll be at the forefront of innovation, shaping the future of cloud infrastructure. You will play a critical role in identifying and analyzing architectural features for future datacenter platforms and SOC technologies. Your work will directly impact Microsoft’s cloud strategy, enabling smarter decisions for total cost of ownership, performance, power, cost, and sustainability. You’ll gain deep expertise in cloud usage, emerging technologies, and architectural modeling, with opportunities for continuous learning and growth. This is a hybrid role, supporting flexible work with up to 40%-time work from home. Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Requirements

• Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 5+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of relevant experience in hardware engineering and computer architecture.
• 3+ years of experience with programming and scripting languages (C or Python).
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with server platform and workload analysis.
• Experience with Compute SOC performance and power analysis.
• Experience with TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) modeling.
• Expertise in high level modeling and simulation of architecture features.
• Expertise in Data Analysis and knowledge of sustainability metrics.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex information, solve problems creatively, and communicate ideas clearly through effective documentation and collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Develop engineering-quality high-level models to evaluate total cost of ownership (TCO), performance, power, and sustainability, enabling data driven decisions to assess and compare platform and SOC technologies for future datacenter solutions.
• Build KPI models for Azure SaaS segments (such as M365, MS-SQL, and CosmosDB) to guide architecture decisions and enable effective hardware/software co-design.
• Analyze cloud workload taxonomy to identify and categorize different workload types, and determine which SOC or platform features best support each workload category, enabling targeted architectural recommendations for optimal performance and efficiency.
• Analyze fleet telemetry data to enhance Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) models.
• Support the development of sustainability metrics and integration into architectural tradeoffs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees