Microsoft Silicon and Cloud Hardware 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, Skype, OneDrive and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with our server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions.
We in SCHIE’s Firmware Center of Excellence create the foundational firmware that powers the Microsoft Cloud. Our firmware lights up millions of servers and racks across the globe, enabling users to do everything from running blogs to crunching through powerful AI algorithms. We’re a growing team of diverse, talented & passionate engineers inventing and delivering technology to light up the “world’s computer!” We are working on the next generation hardware/firmware for server, silicon and rack infrastructure with a focus on innovation in firmware technology to secure Azure infrastructure for Microsoft and their customers. We believe that a robust firmware infrastructure leads to incredibly powerful computing experiences—if you believe this too, we need you! We are seeking a Firmware Engineer II.
#azurehwjobs #SCHIE
Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain embedded firmware, low-level drivers, initialization flows, and diagnostic instrumentation for MAIA and Cobalt platforms.
- Investigate boot failures, crashes, hangs, and functional or reliability issues using source code, register state, logs, crash dumps, and hardware debug tools.
- Reproduce failures in lab environments and implement firmware fixes, workarounds, and regression tests.
- Develop scripts and reusable tools for telemetry collection, failure-signature extraction, and automated analysis across lab and fleet datasets.
- Use data analysis and approved AI-assisted tools to summarize evidence and identify patterns; validate conclusions against hardware and firmware behavior.
- Collaborate with firmware, silicon, platform, OS, and fleet teams to resolve issues and document reproducible debug procedures and lessons learned.
Qualifications
Requirements:
- Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 1+ year(s) technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 2+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience
- 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.
- This role will requires access to information that is controlled for export under export control regulations, potentially under the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or Export Administration Regulations, the EU Dual Use Regulation, and/or other export control regulations. As a condition of employment, the candidate will be required to provide either proof of their country of citizenship or proof of their US. residency or other protected status (e.g., under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the candidate’s citizenship will be verified with a valid passport. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees may verify status using other documents, where applicable.
Preferred Skills:
- Bachelor's or Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field OR equivalent experience.
- 3+ years of professional experience in embedded-system design, development, integration, validation, or system-level debugging.
- Experience developing embedded firmware in C or C++.
- Experience debugging firmware or embedded systems using logs, source-level debugging, or hardware tools.
- Experience scripting for automation or engineering-data analysis.
Firmware Engineering IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $102,100 - $202,200 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 $133,800 - $219,200 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.
Skills Required
- Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field plus 1 or more years of technical engineering experience; or bachelor’s degree in one of these fields plus 2 or more years of technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience
- Ability to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check and applicable Microsoft, customer, or government security screenings
- Eligibility to access export-controlled information under applicable regulations, verified through proof of citizenship, U.S. residency, or other protected status
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent experience
- Three or more years of professional experience in embedded-system design, development, integration, validation, or system-level debugging
- Experience developing embedded firmware in C or C++
- Experience debugging firmware or embedded systems using logs, source-level debugging, or hardware tools
- Experience scripting for automation or engineering-data analysis
Microsoft Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Microsoft and has not been reviewed or approved by Microsoft.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is presented as broadly competitive overall, with clear role/level/location variation and an emphasis on using posted ranges and band information for apples-to-apples comparisons.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are described as a standout, highlighted by a strong 401(k) match structure and immediate vesting, plus additional plan features for tax-advantaged saving.
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Parental & Family Support — Family-oriented benefits are portrayed as a meaningful strength, with substantial paid parental leave and added supports like back-up care and adoption/surrogacy assistance.
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