Senior Principal System Solution Architect

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

20h • $163,000 - $296,400

About The Position

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 Cloud Hardware Systems Engineering (CHSE) 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 seasoned 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 Senior Principal System Solution Architect to join the System Design tea
The System Solution Architect defines future generations of IT infrastructure solutions in Data Center including compute, storage, GPU/AI system and building blocks, from node level to rack level and up to cluster level. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated significant experience in server architecture and design including compute, storage, GPU, 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 expert 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 Architect will partner with the development teams to ensure a smooth transition to full product development.
This individual will also champion innovative technical principles, design strategy and forward-looking technologies related to industry trends, drive the codesign with the full stack including silicon, system, firmware, software, etc. Helping articulate and define our next generation platforms. This requires working across multiple domains including electrical, mechanical, networking, compute, storage, performance modeling, cost modeling and serviceability to find the right strategy tradeoffs.
Come join this exciting and growing team through our monumental evolution of cloud hardware at Azure and Microsoft!
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.

Requirements

• Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 9+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 11+ 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.

Nice To Haves

• 15+ years of relevant experience in system (compute, storage, networking, and/or accelerator) level design and/or implementation across the hardware development lifecycle.
• Proficient understanding of state of the art of AI/HPC physical infrastructure.
• 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.
• Deep and broad knowledge of current and emerging copper and optical based interconnect technologies.
• Proficient communication skills to influence and partner across many Azure business and engineering teams.
• Familiar with advanced packaging.
• Experience deploying systems at scale as part of a cloud service provider or hyper-scale company.
• Experience architecting AI training and Inference system.
• Familiarity with AI model execution pipelines and their impact on pod-level network design and latency SLAs.
• 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, 112G/224G Ethernet.
• Intellectual curiosity and a passion for challenging the status quo and driving disruptive innovation.
• Deep insight in global supply chain dynamics and technology trends.

Responsibilities

• Technology Leadership – Drive concepts and definition for industry leading platforms focused on Azure data center covers Compute, Storage and GPU and AI accelerator-based solutions, with a strong focus on high performance and low latency networks at the forefront of density and speed.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration – Partner with silicon, firmware, and datacenter engineering teams to co-design infrastructure that meets performance, reliability, and deployment goals. Influence platform decisions across rack, chassis, and pod-level implementations.
• Technology Partnerships – build strong relationships with our technology and development partners to drive leading edge innovation into our next generation products.
• Customer Focus – partner across Microsoft teams and collaborate to deliver industry leading products.
• Design Strategy – champion innovative technical principles, design strategy and forward-looking technologies related to industry trends
• Architecture Clarity - Distill and articulate architectural tradeoffs for the solution development encompassing electrical, optical, signal integrity, mechanical, power, and thermal inputs in terms of key metrics such as TCO, performance, schedule, and risk.
• Industry Influence - Drive and influence technology providers and design partners towards optimal components and solutions to meet the future requirements for Azure’s infrastructure.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level