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Principal AI Systems Architect

Microsoft


Job Location:

Redmond, WA - USA

Yearly Salary: USD 165600 - 296400
Posted: 6 October 2026 (15 hours ago)
Application Deadline: 3 January 2027
Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

Overview

Do you want to be at the forefront of innovating the latest hardware designs to propel Microsofts cloud growth Are you seeking a unique career opportunity that combines technical capabilities cross-team collaboration with business insight and strategy

Microsofts mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset innovate to empower others and collaborate to achieve our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect integrity and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and alignment with our Microsoft values we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Join the Systems Pathfinding and Architecture(SPARC) team within Microsofts Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure (AHSI) organization the team behind Microsofts expanding Cloud Infrastructure and for powering Microsofts Intelligent Cloud delivers more than 200 online services to more than one billion individuals worldwide and AHSI is the team behind our expanding cloud infrastructure. We deliver the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsofts cloud businesses including Microsoft Azure Bing MSN Office 365 OneDrive Skype Teams and Xbox Live.

We are seeking a passionate Principal AI System Architect to join the this role you will own and define the system architecture requirements; it is a broad role with the ability to make a direct impact on Microsoft AI accelerator systems.

Microsofts mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Asemployeeswe come together with a growth mindset innovate to empower others and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect integrity and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.



Responsibilities
  • Define AI rack- and cluster-scale architecture across accelerator host network memory storage power cooling and datacenter constraints. Make quantitative tradeoffs across performance and TCO.
  • Develop functional proof-of-concepts to evaluate and de-risk new capabilities
  • Write and own high-level product requirements and specifications
  • Drive alignment across cross-functional engineering and leadership teams. Own the outcomes.
  • Use performance simulations and hardware models for what-if studies to evaluate and choose between architecture options.
  • Industry influence: Participate in industry consortiums to shape standards and influence vendor roadmaps.


Qualifications

Required Qualifications

  • Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Mechanical Engineering or related field AND 9 years technical engineering experience OR Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Mechanical Engineering or related field AND 11 years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience

Other Requirements

  • Abilityto meet Microsoftcustomerand/or government security screening requirementsarerequiredfor this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will berequiredto pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Doctorate in Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Mechanical Engineering or related field AND 8 years technical engineering experience OR Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Mechanical Engineering or related field AND 12 years technical engineering experience OR Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Mechanical Engineering or related field AND 15 years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience
  • Experience in large scale AI datacenter systems and their network
  • Demonstrated expertise in one or more of these domains: networking (RoCE Infiniband transports congestion control network topology design) reliability and serviceability datacenter architecture for large scale AI systems
  • Experience owning hardware system architecture at scale machine rack row and cluster authoring specifications and requirements
  • Ability to make decision trade-offs across domains
  • Deep expertise in AI systems or a key domain such as networking reliability power management
  • Skilled in partnering and influencing architects hardware engineers and software leads
  • Ability to manage through ambiguitybringingclarity to establish direction and driving decisions
  • Collaboration skillsteamworkand senseof presumed responsibility


Hardware Engineering IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $165600 - $296400 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 $220800 - $331200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
position will be open for a minimum of 5 days with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.



Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. 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 with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process read more about requesting accommodations.


Required Experience:

IC