Microsoft

Microsoft

Posted via Microsoft Careers

Principal Silicon Architect

Posted Sep 3, 2026

Role at a glance

Job function
Engineering & R&D Semiconductor & Display Engineering
Salary
$142.8K – $274.8K/yr
Location
Mountain View, California, United States Redmond, Washington, United States
Work arrangement
On-site
Employment
Full-time
Education
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD

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Role Summary

AI-generated

The Principal Silicon Architect will provide technical leadership for ASIC and SoC development within Microsoft's AI Silicon Engineering team, focusing on Network-on-Chip, memory, and interconnect subsystems for high-performance AI and compute SoCs. The role shapes system architecture and supports development, validation, bring-up, and performance characterization of cloud hardware.

What You'll Do

  • Define system-level address maps, memory hierarchy, and SoC connectivity.
  • Translate product performance objectives into scalable NoC, memory, and data movement architectures.
  • Evaluate third-party IP, silicon technologies, and vendor solutions and provide recommendations.
  • Partner with performance modeling and analysis teams to define requirements, develop architectural models, and identify system bottlenecks.
  • Collaborate with hardware, firmware, software, and system architecture teams to align architecture and integrate features.
  • Guide design and verification teams and support pre-silicon validation, post-silicon bring-up, and performance characterization.

Generated from the employer's posting. Verify important details before applying.

View full posting

Qualifications

Doctorate plus 3+ years, master's degree plus 6+ years, bachelor's degree plus 8+ years, or equivalent experience in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

Required

  • Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
  • Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
  • Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
  • 3+ years technical engineering experience
  • 6+ years technical engineering experience
  • 8+ years technical engineering experience

Preferred

  • 10+ years of architecture and design experience in large scale SoC
  • Understanding of on-chip interconnect and memory hierarchy
  • Experience with SoC architecture
  • Track record of successful design of IPs and SoCs
  • Experience in caches and cache coherency
  • Experience with SOC used in data center
  • Experience with Security, die-to-die interconnect, debug, telemetry, boot/reset, RAS

Original job description

Content provided by the employer
View on company site
Overview

 

Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and 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, Teams, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with our server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide and we are looking for passionate engineers to help achieve that mission. 

  

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 AI Silicon Engineering 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 experienced 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 Principal Silicon Architect to join the team. 

 

#SCHIE 

 



Responsibilities

  • Provide technical leadership throughout all phases of ASIC and SoC development, with primary focus on early architecture definition and specification of Network-on-Chip (NoC), memory/interconnect subsystems for high-performance AI and compute SoCs. 

  • Define system-level address maps, memory hierarchy, and SoC connectivity. Translate product performance objectives into scalable NoC, memory, and data movement architectures. 

  • Drive technical evaluations and provide recommendations for third-party IP, silicon technologies, and vendor solutions, balancing performance, power, area, schedule, and risk considerations. 

  • Partner with performance modeling and analysis teams to define performance requirements, develop architectural models, and identify system bottlenecks early in the design cycle. 

  • Collaborate closely with hardware, firmware, software, and system architecture teams to ensure architectural alignment and successful feature integration. 

  • Guide design and verification teams throughout development, ensuring implementation fidelity to architectural intent and requirements. 

  • Support pre-silicon validation, post-silicon bring-up, and performance characterization activities to ensure delivered features meet functional and performance goals. 

  • Drive cross-functional technical reviews, resolve complex architectural issues, and provide leadership on critical design tradeoffs and system-level decisions. 

 
 


Qualifications

Required qualifications 

  • Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience
  • OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ 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. 
 
This role will require 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 successful 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 successful 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 qualifications 

10+ years of architecture and design experience in large scale SoC 

Understanding of on-chip interconnect and memory hierarchy  

Experience with SoC architecture 

Track record of successful design of IPs and SoCs. 

Experience in caches and cache coherency 

Experience with SOC used in data center 

Experience with Security, die-to-die interconnect, debug, telemetry, boot/reset, RAS  


 

 

 



Silicon Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 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 $188,000 - $304,200 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.

Microsoft

About the company

Microsoft

Large Enterprise

Microsoft is a global technology leader that empowers individuals and organizations to achieve more through innovative software, services, and devices. Founded in 1975, the company is best known for its flagship products like the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office suite. In addition to personal computing, Microsoft is a leader in cloud computing with its Azure platform, providing a range of solutions for businesses to enhance productivity and efficiency. With a strong commitment to sustainability and accessibility, Microsoft continues to drive technological advancements that shape the future of work and learning.

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