Senior Hardware Systems Engineer

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

9h • $119,800 - $261,000

About The Position

Microsoft’s Azure Cloud Hardware and Infrastructure Engineering team is seeking a Senior Hardware Systems Engineer to develop systems and modules for deployment in Azure. As a Systems Engineering team member, this role develops system validation plans for Azure hardware solutions, incorporating advanced technologies and datacenter use cases while collaborating across engineering functions. The engineer will architect and build test and debug frameworks and automation, partner with technology providers on test and debug strategies, and promote unified validation methodologies across product segments. The role includes hands-on laboratory validation and debugging, server validation automation and tooling, and development of application or system software, libraries, and drivers that interface with firmware and hardware. It also includes a DevOps role with occasional on-call responsibilities to resolve customer issues in production.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and 3+ years of technical engineering experience; or bachelor’s degree in one of these fields or a related field and 5+ 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

• BS/MS in Electrical or Computer Engineering or a related degree.
• 6+ years of relevant experience developing and validating server systems/platforms for enterprise or cloud market segments.
• At least 3 years of hands-on experience in server hardware validation architecture, test infrastructure development, test-case writing, automation, and test execution.
• 2+ years of experience with programming languages such as Python or PowerShell, or similar, for automation development or integration.
• Solid understanding of hardware, firmware, and OS interfaces and interdependencies; CPU and GPU architectures; and system design concepts.
• Strong verbal and written technical communication skills for interfacing with cross-functional technical leads inside and outside the organization.
• Understanding of Observability, Testability, and Debuggability (OTD).
• Familiarity with technology areas such as PCIe, memory subsystems, networking, power management, rack-device management, and remote-device management.
• Experience with performance benchmarking tools such as SPEC workloads, Linpack, and AI workloads.
• Experience defining custom hardware tools for validation or debugging.
• Experience with Windows and Linux operating systems.
• Advanced troubleshooting and debugging skills, including hands-on use of logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and PCIe analyzers.
• Experience developing benchmarking or system software tools with C/C++ on PCs or server platforms.
• Knowledge of Windows and Linux internals, including thread services such as priority, affinity, synchronization, and atomics.
• Experience evaluating hardware designs, hardware/firmware/OS interactions, platform configuration trade-offs, and end-to-end error flows.
• Experience debugging complex system-level issues related to board hardware, thermal components, and firmware.
• Experience with data analytics, data collection and aggregation, and dashboarding.
• Ability to trace issues across firmware, drivers, and OS, and communicate with partner teams in writing and verbally.
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams, internal divisions, and industry partners such as OEMs and ODMs; demonstrated technical leadership in driving successful product designs.
• Familiarity with one or more system-level protocols such as ACPI, I2C, or PCI.

Responsibilities

• Plan, design, and execute system validation plans and test frameworks for CPU/GPU hardware solutions to verify cloud-grade quality.
• Drive continuous improvement through standardized testing, validation, and debugging methodologies, including automation and AI capabilities to improve efficiency and test coverage.
• Work with OEMs, ODMs, and system engineers on system validation, SKU qualification, scale testing, and debugging.
• Perform hands-on hardware validation and debugging in the laboratory with test engineers.
• Identify, triage, and resolve server subsystem faults; drive end-to-end root-cause analysis with cross-team partners and implement fixes.
• Work with stakeholders to improve processes and data quality and to support cross-boundary triage.
• Develop server-validation automation and tooling in collaboration with other teams.
• Develop application or system software, libraries, and drivers to interface with firmware and hardware devices.
• Perform a DevOps role, including occasional on-call responsibilities to resolve customer issues in production.

What This Job Offers

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