New

Principal Hardware Architect

Microsoft
$139,900.00 - $274,800.00 / yr
United States, Washington, Redmond
Jan 20, 2026
Overview Do you want to be at the forefront of innovating the latest hardware designs to propel Microsoft's cloud growth? Are you seeking a unique career opportunity that combines both technical capabilities, cross team collaboration, with business insight and strategy? Join ourStrategic Planning and Architecture(SPARC)team within Microsoft's Azure Hardware Systems & Infrastructure(AHSI)organization and be a part of theorganization behind Microsoft's expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft's"Intelligent Cloud"mission. Microsoft delivers more than 200 online services to more than one billion individuals worldwide and AHSI is the team behind our expanding cloud infrastructure. We deliver the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's cloud businesses including Microsoft Azure, Bing, MSN, Office 365, OneDrive, Skype,Teamsand Xbox Live. The SPARC organization manages Azure's hardware roadmap from architecture concept through production for all of Microsoft's current and future on-line services. We are looking for a Principal Hardware Architect to join our team! Responsibilities Analyze hardware architectures for AI workloads at system level and SoC level Architect large scale systems which support breakthrough performance for AI workloads to shapeAzure's AI infrastructure roadmap Benchmark GPUs and other AI hardware, with NN models and develop kernels for micro benchmarks Develop / enhance the inference stack architecture for optimal deployment of novel HW architectures and lead prototyping efforts to demonstrate feasibility and performance Understand business critical AI workloads/applications Drive NN model/HW codesign Qualifications Required/minimum qualifications Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 7+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience. Other Requirements: Abilityto meet Microsoft,customerand/or government security screening requirements arerequiredfor this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the followingspecialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will berequiredto pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter. Preferred Qualifications: 15+ years of experience developing/architecting high end AI Accelerators Understanding of large language models, training and inference Knowledge of commonly used AI and HPC workloads and how they are mapped onto large scale systems Expertise in python programming and SW engineering Collaborative mindset Hands on experience with frameworks such as Pytorch/Tensorflow/TensorRT Deep knowledge of CNN/transformer architecture and optimization strategies - quantization, sparsity, sharding, KV Cache, Flash Attention Knowledge of inference stacks, like sglang Knowledge in developing kernels for AI accelerators / GPUs Programming skills in Python/C/C++ Hardware Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $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.