Principal Engineer–Applications

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Job Description:

Microchip’s Data Center Solutions (DCS) business unit delivers industry‑leading performance, reliability, and security across a broad portfolio of next‑generation interconnect and storage technologies—including PCIe® switches and retimers, smart storage controllers, RAID solutions, SAS/SATA I/O controllers, SAS expanders, NVMe controllers, and emerging CXL™ architectures.

Microchip Technology Inc. is seeking a Principal Engineer – Applications to join our rapidly expanding DCS organization in Austin, TX. Our products are widely deployed by top AI servers and storage OEMs, hyperscale cloud providers, and enterprise data‑center customers. DCS solutions power workloads ranging from large‑scale storage infrastructure to cutting‑edge AI/ML training clusters, shaping the next generation of high‑performance, secure, and scalable digital systems.

Our portfolio spans SAS, PCIe, NVMe, and CXL technologies and includes flash controllers, high‑performance switches, RAID controllers, and memory controllers that connect, manage, and secure the world’s data.

As part of the Applications Engineering team, you’ll collaborate closely with product development, validation, marketing, and sales to ensure customers successfully design, deploy, and scale their platforms. You’ll work directly with engineering teams at leading hyperscalers and global OEMs, supporting design wins, platform bring‑up, and production ramp. This role offers hands‑on engagement with cutting‑edge data‑center, AI/ML, and storage technologies in a fast‑moving environment where your contributions directly impact customer success and business growth.

Responsibilities:

• Lead customer platform enablement for Microchip Switchtec® PCIe® switch products, driving robust, system‑level solutions for next‑generation data‑center and AI platforms.

• Partner with hyperscale AI and global storage customers to define technical requirements, manage deliverables, and support platforms from early board bring‑up through production release.

• Provide advanced technical support by driving platform‑level debug, resolving complex system issues, and developing high‑quality collateral such as hardware guides, reference designs, firmware updates, and software tools.

• Travel to customer sites as needed to debug systems, support deployments, and ensure successful integration of PCIe switch products.

• Deliver technical training and presentations to internal field teams and customer engineering groups; mentor junior engineers and support their technical development.

• Work independently and cross‑functionally to solve challenging engineering problems across hardware, firmware, and system integration.

• Lead technical discussions and customer engagements to optimize system design, performance, and reliability.

• Ensure seamless product integration and lifecycle management through close collaboration with customers, product teams, and internal stakeholders.

• Continuously expand expertise in next‑generation PCIe, CXL, and storage architectures, as well as Switchtec product capabilities.

• Collaborate with hardware, software, QA, and product management teams to define requirements and deliverables for new and existing products.

• Troubleshoot and resolve firmware and system‑level issues using advanced tools, methodologies, and data‑center‑class debug workflows.

Requirements/Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Computer Engineering, with 10+ years of relevant industry experience.

• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross‑functional, geographically distributed teams to drive engineering excellence and successful project outcomes.

• Working knowledge of PCI Express (PCIe).

• Strong software and firmware development skills, with deep experience debugging multi‑threaded architectures.

• Proficiency in C and C++ programming; experience developing test scripts in Perl, Bash, or Python.

• Prior experience with UNIX and Windows (Wintel) driver development, as well as firmware development on lightweight embedded operating systems such as ThreadX, VxWorks, eCos, or similar RTOS platforms.

• Customer‑facing engineering experience, including technical support, issue analysis, and root‑cause debugging.

• Hands‑on experience using bench‑top equipment such as protocol analyzers, exercisers, logic analyzers, and other storage‑related test tools.

• Strong understanding of system‑level firmware/hardware interactions, with excellent analytical and problem‑solving capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience in the storage industry, with familiarity collaborating closely with marketing and sales teams.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively engage across cross‑functional engineering and customer teams.

• Hands‑on experience with RISC‑based embedded processors, preferably MIPS.

• Strong debugging capabilities, including experience with kernel‑level debugging tools (e.g., WinDbg), JTAG, and serial interfaces.

• Comprehensive understanding of computer system design, including server and storage architectures, microprocessors, I/O interfaces, electronics hardware development, and basic programming in Python and C.

• Proficiency in system and hardware debugging using laboratory tools such as multimeters, oscilloscopes, and Linux‑based diagnostic utilities.

Travel Time:

Physical Attributes:

Physical Requirements:

Microchip Technology Inc is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.
For more information on applicable equal employment regulations, please refer to the Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal Poster.

To all recruitment agencies: Microchip Technology Inc. does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our recruiting team or other Microchip employees. Microchip is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.