Microsoft
Principal Firmware Development Engineer
$143K–$304K
Redmond, WA +4 · On-site · Principal · Full-time · Posted Nov 3, 2026
- Location
- Redmond, WA
Hillsboro, OR
Mountain View, CA
Austin, TX
Raleigh, NC - Experience
- Required: 3+ years with a doctorate, 6+ years with a master's degree, or 8+ years with a bachelor's degree in a related field; equivalent experience is an alternative. Preferred: 5+ years with a doctorate, 8+ years with a master's degree, or 12+ years with a bachelor's degree, with coding; equivalent experience is an alternative. Also preferred: 3+ years leading technical projects beginning-to-end.
- Education
- Doctorate, master's, or bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field; or equivalent experience.
About the job
Leads cross-program architecture and development of virtual platforms and low-level firmware to enable pre-silicon software development and validation for Azure custom silicon.
What you'll do
- Define reusable SystemC/TLM-based virtual platform architecture and engineering practices across silicon programs.
- Develop models, firmware, and validation software; support bring-up and debug across hardware, firmware, operating systems, and simulation environments.
- Guide hybrid simulation, emulation, and prototyping strategy, mentor engineers, and transition proven solutions to development teams.
What they ask for
- Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years technical engineering experience; OR Master's degree in a related field and 6+ years; OR Bachelor's degree in a related field and 8+ years; OR equivalent experience.
- Meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements, including the Microsoft Cloud Background Check.
- Provide citizenship, U.S. residency, or other protected-status documentation for export-control eligibility assessment; citizenship will be verified with a valid passport, with alternative status documents applicable to lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.
Nice to have
- Experience with C/C++, SystemC and TLM-2.0, or virtual platform technologies such as Synopsys Virtualizer, Arm Fast Models, and Cadence Helium.
- Experience leading technical projects, and working across firmware, systems software, silicon development, hardware, and software boundaries.
Pay
USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year (base salary); USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year (base salary)
Tools
SystemC, TLM-2.0, C/C++, UEFI, Windows Boot, ZeBu, HAPS, Palladium
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative