Principal Platform Architect

Join to apply for the Principal Platform Architect role at Microsoft.Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) is the team behind Microsoft’s expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” mission. SCHIE delivers the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's over 200 online businesses including Bing, MSN, Office 365, Xbox Live, Teams, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with our server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide and we are looking for passionate engineers to help achieve that mission.As Microsoft's cloud business continues to grow, the ability to deploy new offerings and hardware infrastructure on time, in high volume with high quality and lowest cost is of paramount importance. To achieve this goal, the CHSE (Cloud Hardware Systems Engineering) team is instrumental in defining and delivering operational measures of success for hardware manufacturing, improving the planning process, quality, delivery, scale and sustainability related to Microsoft cloud hardware. We are looking for engineers with a dedicated passion for customer focused solutions, insight and industry knowledge to envision and implement future technical solutions that will manage and optimize the Cloud infrastructure.We are looking for a hardware Principal Platform Architect to join the System Design team. The Server Hardware Platform Architect will define future generations of servers and building blocks. The candidate will have demonstrated significant experience in server architecture and design including compute, storage, networking and systems management. Our team is at the forefront of technology and system design, leading the way for the next generation of platforms. Our mission is to architect the most performant, secure, reliable, and cost‑effective solutions that are deployed at hyperscale to power Azure. The architect filling this role will be the subject matter person for one or more platforms and building blocks, working across multiple domains to optimize designs for our high‑volume systems. The architect will collaborate with the Planning and Sourcing teams and with Mechanical and Thermal Architects on requirements capture, technology insertion, concept proposals, cost/performance tradeoffs, prototype engineering, and architectural documentation for design/planning reviews. Once a program is approved from a conceptual level, the Platform Architect will partner with the development teams to ensure a smooth transition to full product development.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.ResponsibilitiesCustomer Focus – partner across Microsoft teams, collaborating to architect solutions for customer challenges.Industry Influence – Drive and influence external technology providers, design partners and standards bodies towards optimal components, solutions and standards to meet the future Azure infrastructure requirements.Technology Leadership – Drive concepts, definition & designs for industry leading Azure server platforms and generate intellectual property to help strengthen Microsoft’s position as a leader in Cloud Computing.Partnerships – build relationships with our internal technology and development partners to enable leading edge innovation in our next generation products, while optimizing performance, costs and risks.Drive Clarity – Distill and articulate architectural tradeoffs encompassing electrical, signal integrity, mechanical, power, and thermal inputs in terms of key metrics such as TCO, performance, schedule, and risk.Embody our culture and values.QualificationsMinimum QualificationsMaster’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 7+ years technical engineering experience in computer/server/storage platform architecture and design.Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience.Equivalent experience.Demonstrated expertise in multi‑disciplinary server platform architecture and design.Ability to analyze solutions from a full TCO perspective, including but not limited to CAPEX, OPEX, the system constraints that drive design tradeoffs, technology, quality and serviceability.Proficient communication skills to influence and partner across many Azure business and engineering teams.Other RequirementsAbility 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.Preferred QualificationsServer PCBA design experience including schematic, layout, routing, power, and signal integrity.Experience deploying systems at scale as part of a cloud service provider or hyper‑scale company.Demonstrated expertise in balancing challenging electrical designs with complex mechanical and thermal tradeoffs of system design.Knowledge of leading processor/memory technologies and industry standards, such as DC‑MHS.Demonstrated expertise with high speed signaling and interconnects including PCIe/CXL.Hardware Engineering IC5 – The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.Microsoft will accept applications for the role until November 17th, 2025.Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. 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