The Azure Core Network Interface Cards (NIC) team designs, develops, and deploys multiple generations of Smart Network Interface Cards (SmartNICs) that deliver advanced hardware offloads, including Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) and other high-performance networking capabilities. As Azure's networking requirements continue to grow, the team is expanding to support the increasing demand for high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, high availability, and efficient compute utilization across both Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads and general-purpose cloud infrastructure.
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Responsibilities
- Lead development of next-generation Azure SmartNIC and networking software capabilities.
- Drive architecture and technical execution for RDMA, virtualization, offload technologies, and high-performance networking scenarios.
- Collaborate with hardware, firmware, silicon, and cloud service teams to deliver end-to-end platform innovations.
- Define and drive reliability and performance improvements based on production telemetry and customer usage patterns.
- Influence networking platform strategy and future technical investments.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 4+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C++, C, Java, or Python
- 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:
- Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C++, C, Java, or Python
- OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C++, C, Java, or Python
- OR equivalent experience.
- Experience in the following:
- leading the technical design and delivery of complex engineering projects across multiple components or services;
- designing scalable, maintainable, and highly available software architectures;
- driving feature-area ownership, technical decision-making, and project execution with minimal oversight;
- collaborating with multiple engineering teams to deliver cross-functional solutions;
- troubleshooting, debugging, and root-cause analysis skills in production environments;
- mentoring engineers and providing technical leadership through design and code reviews.
- Experience with the following:
- networking technologies including TCP/IP, RDMA, Ethernet, DPDK, SR-IOV, SmartNICs, or network virtualization;
- Linux systems, kernel development, drivers, or performance-sensitive software;
- building services for cloud-scale distributed systems;
- hardware-software integration, firmware interactions, or platform infrastructure;
- driving technical strategy and architecture across multiple teams;
- operating and improving highly available services in production environments;
- leading incident response efforts and driving systemic reliability improvements.
- Knowledge of Azure networking, virtualization, storage networking, or high-performance computing workloads.
#azurecorejobs
Software 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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field and 4+ years of technical engineering experience with coding in C++, C, Java, or Python, or equivalent experience
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements
- Pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter
- Master's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field and 6+ years of technical engineering experience, or bachelor's degree and 8+ years of experience, or equivalent experience
- Experience leading technical design and delivery of complex engineering projects across multiple components or services
- Experience designing scalable, maintainable, and highly available software architectures
- Experience driving feature-area ownership, technical decision-making, and project execution with minimal oversight
- Experience collaborating with multiple engineering teams to deliver cross-functional solutions
- Experience troubleshooting, debugging, and performing root-cause analysis in production environments
- Experience mentoring engineers and providing technical leadership through design and code reviews
- Experience with networking technologies including TCP/IP, RDMA, Ethernet, DPDK, SR-IOV, SmartNICs, or network virtualization
- Experience with Linux systems, kernel development, drivers, or performance-sensitive software
- Experience building services for cloud-scale distributed systems
- Experience with hardware-software integration, firmware interactions, or platform infrastructure
- Experience driving technical strategy and architecture across multiple teams
- Experience operating and improving highly available services in production environments
- Experience leading incident response efforts and driving systemic reliability improvements
- Knowledge of Azure networking, virtualization, storage networking, or high-performance computing workloads
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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What We Do
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