This role pays more than
53%
of similar roles. Most pay
$169,550–$250,000
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$209k
versus about
$210k
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.
As a Principal Platform Power & Performance Engineer within the Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering team, you will shape the power and performance architecture of Azure Compute and AI infrastructure. You will work at the intersection of silicon, servers, firmware, operating systems, and accelerators to characterize real systems and identify efficiency bottlenecks. Your daily responsibilities include analyzing interactions between CPU/GPU utilization, memory, PCIe/I/O, and thermal management to improve performance per watt and rack density. You will develop dynamic power-management strategies, build telemetry methodologies, and partner with vendors to influence hardware architecture. Required skills include expertise in server systems, BIOS/UEFI, and OS kernel power management. You will utilize tools like Linux perf, hardware performance counters, and scripting languages such as Python, PowerShell, or Bash to solve complex cross-layer issues for large-scale cloud infrastructure.
Own end-to-end power and performance characterization of next-generation Azure compute platforms from silicon through workload validation.
Analyze interactions between hardware components, firmware, operating systems, and thermal management to identify efficiency bottlenecks.
Develop and evaluate dynamic power and performance management strategies for various system utilization levels.
Profile cloud and AI workloads to determine which system-level optimizations provide the most significant energy improvements.
Influence silicon features, BIOS/firmware policies, and hardware architecture using measured engineering data.
Build telemetry and analysis methodologies that connect low-level platform behavior with infrastructure-level efficiency.
Diagnose complex cross-layer performance and power issues spanning hardware, firmware, kernels, drivers, and accelerators.
Translate technical findings into actionable recommendations for fleet efficiency, capacity utilization, and future product roadmaps.
What we're looking for
Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field and 7+ years of technical engineering experience.
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field and 8+ years of technical engineering experience.
Equivalent experience to the specified educational and experience requirements.
Ability to pass a Microsoft Cloud Background Check.
Must provide proof of citizenship or U.S. permanent residency/protected status for export control compliance.
15+ years of relevant experience in server systems, computer architecture, or power/performance engineering (preferred).
Deep understanding of modern server architecture including CPU microarchitecture, memory subsystems, PCIe, firmware, and OS kernel power management (preferred).
Proficiency in performance analysis tools, scripting languages like Python/Bash, and translating technical data for leadership audiences (preferred).
C
C++
Python
C#
Java
JavaScript
.NET
Linux
Unix
U-Boot
Kernel Development
Distributed Systems
Microservices
Azure
KQL
Kusto
Firmware
SPI
I2C
GPIO
UART
Telemetry