Sr. Manufacturing Engineer

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

5d•$119,800 - $261,000

About The Position

Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) delivers the infrastructure and foundational technologies supporting Microsoft's cloud businesses. The Hardware, Infrastructure Management, and Fundamentals Engineering team defines and delivers operational measures of success for cloud hardware manufacturing, improving planning, quality, delivery, scale, and sustainability. The Senior Hardware Manufacturing Engineer leads manufacturing strategy and execution for complex custom-silicon and cloud-hardware platforms, including GPU and AI systems. The role spans early design engagement, new product introduction (NPI), qualification, production ramp, and sustaining operations. A particular focus is GPU and AI systems with high-speed optical networking, including optical modules, high-speed cable and fiber assemblies, liquid-cooled trays, rack-level fiber infrastructure, and cross-supplier interoperability. The engineer translates product and process details and high-level objectives into executable manufacturing plans, identifies systemic risks, and drives issues to closure with cross-functional teams and external manufacturing partners. The role involves influencing product architecture and design, defining production processes and factory readiness, leading supplier qualification and production readiness, and using manufacturing metrics and evidence to guide decisions across geographically distributed teams.

Requirements

Master's degree in Manufacturing, Material, Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal, or Industrial Engineering, or a related field, and 4+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment or repair; OR bachelor's degree in one of those fields and 5+ years of such 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.
Deep hardware manufacturing expertise across assembly, test, tooling, fixtures, process qualification, factory operations, quality systems, repair, and production ramp.
Experience leading manufacturing engineering for AI, GPU, HPC, or rack-scale systems involving optical networking, high-speed interconnects, custom silicon, and disaggregated architectures.
Hands-on experience developing, qualifying, and manufacturing optical and high-speed connectivity components, including transceivers, cables, fiber assemblies, connectors, and related technologies.
Expertise in NPI and defining factory test, qualification, and reliability strategies for high-speed electrical and optical systems, including bring-up, interoperability, telemetry, fault isolation, and configuration control.
Ability to influence product architecture and design through DFM, testability, process capability, risk management, manufacturing trade-offs, and engineering-change assessments.
Experience leading NPI, production ramp, and supplier ecosystems across globally distributed teams, ODMs/OEMs, contract manufacturers, system integrators, and sub-tier suppliers.
Strong track record applying data-driven manufacturing methods, including SPC, PFMEA, 8D, Six Sigma, yield analytics, MSA, and control plans; driving scalable improvements; translating technical data into executive recommendations; and using PLM/MES/project-tracking tools.
Strong leadership, facilitation, communication, problem-solving, and L1/L2 triage skills, with effectiveness across organizational levels.
Ability to prioritize and execute in high-pressure, fast-paced environments while independently driving complex manufacturing challenges to resolution.

Nice To Haves

Doctorate in Manufacturing, Material, Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal, or Industrial Engineering, or a related field, and 3+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment or repair; OR master's degree in one of those fields and 6+ years of such experience; OR bachelor's degree in one of those fields and 8+ years of such experience; OR equivalent experience.
Patent or track record of engineering excellence.

Responsibilities

Serve as the senior manufacturing engineering lead for assigned cloud-hardware, GPU, optical-networking, and custom-silicon programs, owning manufacturing technical strategy from architecture through sustaining production.
Lead design-for-manufacturing, assembly, testability, serviceability, packaging, automation, tolerance, and sustainability reviews; identify constraints and influence design decisions to improve manufacturability, yield, cost, reliability, and time to market.
Translate product architecture into production processes, equipment and tooling strategies, assembly sequences, inspection and test methods, process controls, repair boundaries, supplier requirements, and factory qualification plans.
Lead manufacturing architecture, DFM, process development, and production-readiness activities for GPU and AI systems using optical and high-speed interconnect technologies, including optical modules, cables, connectors, fiber assemblies, trays, rack-level fiber management, and liquid cooling.
Develop and qualify contamination-controlled handling, cleaning, inspection, installation, routing, configuration verification, and test processes for optical and high-speed interconnect assemblies.
Establish factory test coverage for connector integrity, cable and fiber mapping, optical-path continuity, link bring-up, telemetry, firmware interoperability, power sequencing, cooling integrity, serviceability, and system-level fault isolation.
Drive qualification and production readiness across optical-module, laser, connector, cable, fiber-management, rack, cooling, PCB, and contract-manufacturing partners, including DFM closure, process capability, yield, capacity, interoperability, second-source readiness, and contingency planning.
Develop integrated manufacturing plans covering prototype builds, EV/DV/PV, qualification, and volume ramp; establish readiness criteria, lead critical builds, make go/no-go recommendations, and drive recovery actions when maturity is insufficient.
Assess and develop production-line capability, factory layouts, staffing, equipment, tooling, fixtures, test coverage, material readiness, repair operations, and capacity models; lead recovery actions and provide technical leadership during critical builds and production excursions.
Provide technical leadership to contract manufacturers, ODMs, OEMs, component suppliers, and sub-tier partners; assess capability, process maturity, qualification, compliance, capacity, interoperability, and business-continuity risks; influence supplier investment and corrective actions.
Lead supplier process qualification and readiness assessments, including process audits, PPAP activities, control plans, fixture and tooling acceptance, incoming-quality criteria, line validation, test coverage, and repair readiness.
Apply statistical process control, process-capability analysis, measurement-system analysis, control plans, inspection data, and yield analytics to reduce variation and detect defects; drive practical automation, digital monitoring, vision inspection, AI-enabled analytics, and factory-data improvements where they add measurable value.
Lead manufacturing issue triage and structured problem-solving using methods such as 8D, fishbone, 5-Why, PFMEA, DFMEA, and Six Sigma; establish containment, determine root cause, verify corrective-action effectiveness, prevent recurrence, and capture lessons learned.
Own manufacturing risk identification and mitigation across NUDD, PFMEA, qualification, yield, tooling, materials, supplier readiness, schedule, and capacity; lead engineering-change impact assessments, tolerance analyses, simulations, failure-mode evaluations, and technical trade-offs.
Establish dashboards and operating mechanisms for build readiness, qualification, yield, defect trends, issue aging, risk closure, supplier performance, capacity, and corrective actions; communicate concise technical and business narratives for decision-makers.
Develop reusable manufacturing standards, roadmaps, supplier strategies, qualification methods, and process improvements across product generations; transfer lessons, mentor engineers, and strengthen broader team capability and accountability.