Do you want to be at the forefront of innovating the latest hardware and systems 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? Join our Leading-Edge Architecture Pathfinding (LEAP) team within the Strategic Planning and Architecture (SPARC) organization in Azure Hardware Systems & Infrastructure (AHSI). AHSI is the team behind Microsoft’s expanding cloud business, responsible for delivering the hardware systems and infrastructure for cloud computing across Microsoft Azure, Bing, MSN, Office 365, OneDrive, Skype, Teams and Xbox Live. The SPARC organization is responsible for strategy, planning and architecture pathfinding, and manages Azure’s hardware roadmap from architecture concept through production for Microsoft’s current and future on-line services. The LEAP team within SPARC is at the forefront of systems architecture and technology pathfinding spanning compute, memory, storage, network and system interconnects. Drawing on deep insights of workloads, emerging technology trends, and focused industry engagements, LEAP team’s charter is to define and evaluate novel systems architecture innovations through hardware/software co-design and advance them through technical readiness for productization. The LEAP team is seeking a **Principal Software Engineer** to lead hardware/software co-design, software prototyping, and building reference designs to enable pathfinding for novel system architectures spanning memory tiering, memory disaggregation, data acceleration, and resource virtualization capabilities. This role has substantial technical responsibilities that require in-depth technical expertise in system software memory management internals, virtualization technologies, I/O sub-systems software for system interconnects such as CXL and PCIe, and memory tiering/pooling architectures. The candidate must have proven track-record of co-designing systems innovations collaborating with hardware/software/workload experts, building capable proof of concepts, developing and delivering high-quality reference software, and experience with influencing and driving innovations from concept to productization. **Responsibilities** + Lead full system software prototyping to develop capable proof-of-concepts to evaluate memory tiering and pooling solutions for Azure usages and deployment scenarios. + Develop and lead end-to-end detailed performance analysis methodologies and tools to evaluate systems architecture innovations and guide hardware architecture directions. + Collaborate across domain experts on workloads, software experts, SoC architects, and platform architects to engineer memory TCO-optimized solutions for Azure usages. + Engage with Azure’s supplier ecosystem on collaborations that deliver on the above charter + Influence and shape hardware architecture, targeting three-to-six-year timeframe, with data-driven analysis, insights and recommendations. **Qualifications** **Required/Minimum Qualifications:** + Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, or related technical discipline AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python + OR equivalent experience. + 5+ years of experience in systems software (OS kernel, memory management, I/O stacks, Virtualization) with demonstrated track record of success, guiding architecture and software enabling. + 5+ years of experience leading significant hardware/software co-design projects involving CPU and/or systems architecture and influencing technical direction. **Other Requirements** + Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements is necessary for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check. **Preferred Qualifications:** + Knowledge of Windows or Linux Operating System internals + Deep expertise in CPU, memory and I/O virtualization hardware and software architecture + Skilled in partnering and influencing architects, hardware engineers, and software leads + Ability to manage through ambiguity, bringing clarity and results orientation to engage and energize collaborators and stakeholders + Collaboration skills, teamwork, and sense of presumed responsibility + Verbal and written communication skills, and ability to articulate and engage with both technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels. + Experience leading and driving complex projects with respect and integrity, including those with multiple workstreams spanning different business and technical disciplines. + Intellectual curiosity and passion about learning and deploying new technologies.  + Problem-solving skills, analytical capabilities, and attention to detail Software Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $137,600 - $267,000 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 $180,400 - $294,000 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 (https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay%20 ) Microsoft will accept applications for the role until February 14, 2025. \#SPARC #AHSI Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, 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 and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html) .