Senior Firmware Engineer

Overview

The Cloud Hardware Infrastructure Engineering Firmware Development team is responsible for the design and development of Server and Rack Infrastructure Firmware for Microsofts online services. We work closely with Microsoft product groups, industry partners, and researchers to architect and develop server hardware solutions that meet the requirements of our cloud services platforms at the lowest possible cost of ownership (TCO). We need to be always learning and insatiably curious. We need to be willing to lean into uncertainty, take risks, and move quickly when we make mistakes, recognizing failure happens along the way to mastery. And we are open to the ideas of others, where the success of others does not diminish our own.

The team develops foundational firmware infrastructure, frameworks, and platform services for Microsofts cloud hardware, AI infrastructure, and custom silicon platforms. Our work spans shared firmware components, low-level platform services, platform management and serviceability, telemetry and diagnostics, and pre-silicon platform enablement. A key objective is to enable firmware development and validation before silicon availability through scalable firmware infrastructure and pre-silicon development environments. This approach accelerates platform readiness, reduces program risk, and enables scalable reuse across multiple hardware programs and silicon generations.

This role provides opportunities to contribute across firmware architecture, platform enablement, system integration, validation, serviceability, and hardware bring-up throughout the product lifecycle. We are seeking a Senior Firmware Engineer.

Responsibilities

• Architect, design, develop, and maintain firmware infrastructure, platform services, and foundational software components that enable Microsofts cloud hardware, AI infrastructure, and custom silicon platforms.
• Design and develop reusable firmware frameworks, libraries, hardware abstraction layers, and common services that improve scalability, maintainability, code quality, and engineering productivity across multiple programs and hardware generations.
• Drive early firmware development, integration, and validation through pre-silicon environments, FPGA prototyping, simulation platforms, and hardware bring-up activities to accelerate platform readiness and reduce program risk.
• Develop platform management, serviceability, telemetry, diagnostics, and reliability capabilities that improve platform health, observability, and operational excellence throughout the product lifecycle.
• Collaborate across silicon, hardware, platform, validation, and software engineering teams to define requirements, influence architecture, resolve complex technical challenges, and deliver high-quality solutions.
• Provide technical leadership through system design, architecture reviews, root-cause analysis, engineering best practices, mentorship, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 1+ year(s) technical engineering experience OR Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 4+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience

Other requirements:

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.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years developing firmware, embedded software, or systems software, with strong professional C/C++ experience.
• Experience developing firmware for complex hardware, server-class systems, datacenter platforms, or AI accelerators.
• Experience with SoC bring-up, bootloaders, BSPs, HALs, device drivers, and hardware interfaces such as I2C/I3C, SPI, UART, or PCIe.
• Debugging, unit-testing, modular-design, and hardware/software integration skills, including familiarity with hardware debug tools and schematics.
• Experience with platform-management and serviceability technologies - such as PLDM, MCTP, Redfish, telemetry, diagnostics, firmware update, or RAS - plus development automation using Linux, Python, Git, CI, or Azure DevOps.
• Embedded Rust, secure firmware/Root of Trust, and pre-silicon development experience.

Firmware Engineering IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $160,200 - $261,000 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. 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. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.