As a Principal AI Network Architect joining the Systems Planning and Architecture (SPARC) team within Microsoft’s Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure organization, you will lead the architecture definition and evaluation of next-generation AI accelerator platforms, focusing on high-bandwidth, low-latency networks. Your day-to-day responsibilities include collaborating with silicon and platform design teams to co-design infrastructure that meets performance, reliability, and deployment goals, while also prototyping new network architectures in a state-of-the-art networking lab. You will influence industry standards through participation in consortiums and contribute to Azure’s product roadmaps. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in Ethernet networking, RDMA, congestion control, and layer 2/3 switching, along with experience in AI model execution pipelines and high radix ethernet switches. This role requires a master's or doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related fields, and at least ten years of technical experience in the domain.
Skills
Ethernet
RDMA
RoCE
Infiniband
Congestion_control
Layer_2/3_switching
AI_GPU_clusters
NVLinks
UALink
High_radix_ethernet_switches
CI/CD
Azure
Bash
Python
C++
Linux
Networking_lab
Hyperscale_network_deployments
What you'll do
Lead architecture definition and evaluation for AI accelerator platforms.
Collaborate with design teams to co-create infrastructure meeting performance goals.
Prototype new network architectures using state-of-the-art networking labs.
Influence industry standards and vendor roadmaps through participation in consortia.
Analyze communication flows in AI model execution pipelines to optimize performance.
What we're looking for
Master’s or Doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related fields with 10+ years of technical experience.
Deep expertise in Ethernet networking, RDMA (RoCE, Infiniband), congestion control, and layer 2/3 switching.
Experience architecting scale-out/backend network for AI GPU clusters and familiarity with scale-up networks like NVLinks, UALink.
Familiarity with high radix Ethernet switches and AI model execution pipelines to analyze communication flows impacting performance.
Prior contributions in standards committees and experience with hyperscale network deployments.
Market check
Salary context
This
$139,900–$274,800
range sits above
44%
of similar postings on FindRole.
Peer median band
$171,550–$262,400
Median floor and ceiling across peers.
Typical midpoint (25–75%)
$177,250–$246,150
Middle half of comparable postings.
Based on 240 comparable postings.*
* 240 is the maximum number of comparable postings sampled.
Employer
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology leader producing software, hardware, and cloud services including Windows, Office 365, Azure cloud platform, Xbox gaming, and Surface devices. Industry: Software & Cloud Computing
Microsoft currently has
451 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$119,800–$234,700
across 417 roles with salary data.
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