Job Details
Posted date: Nov 26, 2025
There have been 3 jobs posted with the title of Principal Firmware Security Engineer all time at Microsoft.Category: Software Engineering
Location: Redmond, WA
Estimated salary: $222,050
Range: $139,900 - $304,200
Employment type: Full-Time
Work location type: 3 days / week in-office
Role: Individual Contributor
Description
OverviewDo 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 technical capabilities, cross team collaboration, with business insight and strategy?
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 achieve 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. In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.
Join the Systems Planning and Architecture (SPARC) team within Microsoft’s Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure (AHSI) organization, the team behind Microsoft’s expanding Cloud Infrastructure and 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, Teams and 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. This role is for a highly motivated Firmware Engineer with a background in driver design and development. You will be involved with all phases of product development, from secure silicon design through manufacturing and supply chain, and into high scale deployment. At the design phase, you will work with security threat model team and be responsible for the silicon security architecture and design of low-level hardware accelerators.
We are looking for a Principal Firmware Security Engineer to join our team!
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.
Responsibilities
We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Principal Software Engineer with deep expertise in hardware development and large language model (LLM) design and integration. In this role, you will contribute to every phase of product development—from silicon design to firmware architecture and security engineering.
Key Responsibilities
Lead firmware security architecture during the design phase.Apply LLMs for design assurance, including:Threat modelingVulnerability discoveryDesign accelerator chips and collaborate on silicon architecture, covering:Security protocolsBoot initialization and power-on sequencesVulnerability detection and servicing strategiesCloud infrastructure feature developmentEmbody our culture and values.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science,or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experienceOR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 6+ years technical engineering experienceOR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experienceOR equivalent experience.Experience in defensive development and code security analysis.6+ years of professional experience in software developmentProven and demonstrable skill in C/C++ or Rust.Experience with developing PCIe, USB, DMA, IOMMU etc.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:Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years technical engineering experience with codingOR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science,or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with codingOR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science,or related field AND 12+ years technical engineering experience with codingOR equivalent experience.Experience with GITProven and demonstrable skill in RustFamiliarity with standard Cryptographic algorithmsExperienced working with LLM for vulnerability scanning and detection.Experience in working in pre silicon environments.Ability to debug and resolve issues spanning multiple subsystems.Great problem solving, debugging, and troubleshooting skills,Advanced design and development skills.Firmware developmentHardware securityGenerative AI and LLM technologiesVulnerability detection tools (e.g., CodeQL, static code analysis)#SCHIE #azureHWjobs
Software 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.
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