Principal Hardware Systems Engineer, Storage

Microsoft

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Hybrid

Quick summary

Work type: Hybrid
Location: —
Salary: $142,800–$274,800 / yr
Posted: 2 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Closes: Mar 31, 2027

Market check

Salary context

Competitive pay

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $206k

This role $209k

$127k most similar roles pay here $291k

This role pays more than 58% of similar roles. Most pay $177,250–$235,750 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $209k versus about $206k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

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 597 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $119,800–$234,700 across 570 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Hardware Systems Engineer, Storage

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Principal Hardware Systems Engineer - Storage joins the Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering team to qualify storage components for the Microsoft Data Center. This role involves collaborating with Azure and Exchange Engineering groups to develop component qualification test plans at both device and system levels. The engineer will influence scalable qualification frameworks, validation methodologies, and automation infrastructure while resolving complex storage and memory issues impacting platform availability and performance. Day-to-day responsibilities include leading cross-functional investigations involving firmware, operating systems, and drivers, as well as representing the team with OEMs and silicon providers. Required skills include expertise in server system and storage architecture, along with proficiency in scripting languages such as PowerShell, Python, or Perl to automate data collection and debugging. The role addresses critical infrastructure challenges for high-performance computing environments at scale.

Skills

Storage Architecture Memory Architecture Hardware Validation Firmware Operating Systems Python PowerShell Perl Automation Networking Telemetry Scripting Azure

What you'll do

Design scalable qualification frameworks, validation methodologies, and automation infrastructure for cloud-scale environments.
Establish reliability requirements, telemetry strategies, and health monitoring frameworks to ensure production readiness.
Resolve complex storage and memory issues impacting Azure platform availability, performance, and reliability.
Lead cross-functional investigations across hardware, firmware, operating systems, and drivers to identify root causes.
Represent the team in technical discussions and debug sessions with OEMs, ODMs, and silicon providers.
Develop scripts and routines using PowerShell, Python, or Perl to automate data collection and debugging.
Create component qualification test plans for both device and system levels based on hardware and software requirements.

What we're looking for

A Master's degree in Engineering and 7+ years of experience, or a Bachelor's degree and 8+ years of experience is required.
Candidates with a Doctorate and 5+ years of experience, a Master's and 8+ years, or a Bachelor's and 12+ years are preferred.
Ability to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check is required.
Experience in hardware system validation including planning, documentation, development, execution, and debug is preferred.
Knowledge of server system, storage, and memory architecture and validation is preferred.
Familiarity with networking, power, rack management, and remote access environments is preferred.
Ability to develop scripts in PowerShell, Python, or Perl for debugging and automation is preferred.
Experience integrating and validating hardware components at the server system level is preferred.

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