Firmware Engineer II

The Azure Silicon Cloud Hardware Infrastructure and Engineering (SCHIE) team is instrumental in defining and delivering operational success for Azure that exceeds our customer’s expectations. The HW Security Center of Excellence within the SCHIE organization is responsible for design and development of Security Solutions (Silicon, Firmware, Hardware) for Server and Rack Infrastructure Firmware for Microsoft's global Azure business. We work closely with Microsoft product groups, industry partners and researchers to architect and develop Security features and solutions that meet the requirements for our cloud services platforms at the lowest possible cost of ownership (TCO). We need to be always learning and insatiably curious. We need to be willing to lean into uncertainty, take risks and move quickly when we make mistakes, recognizing failure happens along the way to mastery and we need to be open to the ideas of others, where the success of others does not diminish our own.

We are looking for a highly motivated Firmware Engineer with a background in security to work on Securing Azure Infrastructure, both for the existing Azure fleet and incoming new portfolio. You will be responsible to work with architects to understand the Security Requirements, designing and implementing security features for hardware and firmware systems that power Azure today. You have a passion for security, enjoy seeing your code light up features that come to life on hardware that will be responsible for securing Azure infrastructure. You have strong coding skills, debugging and troubleshooting abilities, with experience in firmware development. Additionally experience with some or all the following: firmware development, SoC bring-up, with Security primitives, bootloaders, platform initialization, board support package porting, peripherals such as PCIe, I2C, SPI, USB, UARTs, OS primitives, memory management, scheduling, interrupts, and multi-threading will be great.

Job Description: Responsibilities

• Responsible for the implementation of various security firmware components, including driver interfaces, bring-up, and security features’ development
• Responsible for end-to-end feature delivery and test collateral
• Responsible to incorporate (SDL) throughout the development process with a Test-Driven Quality first development mindset
• Perform system-level debugging and troubleshooting to identify and resolve complex hardware/firmware-related issues while collaborating with cross-functional teams
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including hardware architects and engineers, software developers, validation & integration and product managers to define firmware requirements and specifications
• Stay up to date with industry trends and advancements in cloud firmware technologies and provide recommendations for improvement.
• Work closely with Microsoft product groups, industry partners and researchers to architect and develop server hardware solutions that meet the requirements for our cloud services platforms at the lowest possible cost of ownership (TCO).

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or similar.
• 4+ years of professional experience in firmware development or embedded software development in a multicore environment or hardware and firmware security
• 4+ years of Programming experience in C/C++/Rust

• Demonstrated experience of hardware and firmware, design and coding for solutions at scale
• Experience with SoC bring-up, with Security primitives, bootloaders, platform initialization, board support package porting, peripherals such as PCIe, I2C, SPI, USB, UARTs. OS primitives, memory management, scheduling, interrupts, and multi-threading
• Experience with secure boot, secure firmware updates, Attestation, Secure recovery and secure debug workflows at scale

• Solid understanding of computer architectures including processors, buses, and memories.
• Experience working with multiple teams on Root cause analysis, troubleshooting, and debugging skills resulting into solving complex Hardware/Firmware interface issues
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
• Self-motivated and able to work independently
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams

Preferred Qualifications:

• Security Qualifications
• Working experience with architecting or implementing industry-standard security protocols, including secure communications, cryptographic algorithms, public key infrastructure, and key management technologies
• Familiarity and understanding of Supply Chain Security
• Vulnerability assessment in the Firmware

• Experience with Penetration testing
• Security primitives, security ciphers, threat vectors, security mitigation strategies to close identified vulnerabilities.
• (RT)OS Scheduling and firmware development in multithreading SMP as well as in heterogeneous computing environment

This 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.