Microsoft

Principal AI Network Architect

Microsoft • $142K — $274K *
Raleigh, NC 27610In-Person
Enterprise Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Master's Degree in Engineering or related field with 7+ years experience OR Bachelor's Degree with 8+ years experience.
  • Ability to meet Microsoft security screening requirements, including a Cloud Background Check.
  • Minimum 10 years of experience in system design/implementation across the hardware development lifecycle.
  • Proven delivery of AI and GPU-based systems into production.
  • Deep understanding of AI scale-up and scale-out networking architectures.

Responsibilities

  • Define the long-term architecture for AI networking systems.
  • Architect next-generation scale-up switches and select appropriate technologies.
  • Design network architectures for AI clusters and multi-rack systems.
  • Analyze architecture trade-offs across performance and operational efficiency.
  • Develop network requirements focused on emerging AI workloads.
  • Lead studies for switch silicon and interconnect technologies.
  • Drive architecture decisions for scale-up networks, emphasizing resiliency and fault tolerance.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to co-design AI infrastructure solutions.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health insurance plans.
  • Access to employee wellness programs.
  • Opportunities for professional development and certifications.
  • Generous paid time off and sick leave policies.
Full Job Description
Responsibilities

  • Define the long-term architecture and technology roadmap for Microsoft's AI scale-up networking systems.


  • Architect next-generation scale-up switches, including system architecture, switch topology, ASIC selection, radix planning, electrical and optical interconnect strategies.


  • Define network architectures for AI clusters, racks, pods, and multi-rack scale-up domains.


  • Drive architecture tradeoff analysis across performance, scalability, reliability, power, cost, serviceability, and operational efficiency.


  • Define scale-up network requirements based on AI training, inference, and emerging workload demands.


  • Lead architecture studies for switch silicon, optics, interconnect technologies, control planes, and AI fabrics.


  • Define switch system requirements, architecture specifications, and design guidelines for future Microsoft AI platforms.


  • Drive architecture decisions for scale-up and scale-out networks, including topology, oversubscription, resiliency, fault tolerance, and workload placement optimization.


  • Partner with system, silicon, optics, software, firmware, and operations teams to co-design end-to-end AI infrastructure solutions.


  • Develop performance, capacity, reliability, and TCO models to evaluate architecture alternatives and guide investment decisions.


  • Evaluate emerging networking technologies and influence industry roadmaps across switch silicon, optics, and networking ecosystems.


  • Provide technical direction and architectural guidance to switch development teams, ODM/JDM partners, and platform engineering organizations.


Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

  • Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 7+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience


Other Requirements:

  • Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements is required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following specialized security screening:
    • Microsoft Cloud Background Check. This position is required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.
  • This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under export control regulations, potentially under the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or Export Administration Regulations, the EU Dual Use Regulation, and/or other export control regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide either proof of their country of citizenship or proof of their U.S. permanent residency or other protected status (e.g., under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate's citizenship will be verified with a valid passport. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees may verify status using other documents, where applicable.


Preferred Qualifications:

  • BS / MS in Electrical/Computer Engineering or equivalent industry experience.
  • 10+ years of relevant experience in system (compute, storage, networking, and/or accelerator) level design and/or implementation across the hardware development lifecycle.
  • 10+ years of hands-on experience in server hardware architecture, design, and development with solid understanding of hardware, firmware, and Operating System (OS).
  • Proven experience delivering AI and GPU-based systems to production.
  • 10+ years of experience in networking, distributed systems, AI infrastructure, or large-scale system architecture.
  • Deep understanding of AI scale-up and scale-out networking architectures.
  • Experience architecting high-performance network switches and large-scale switching systems.
  • Knowledge of Ethernet, RDMA/RoCE, SONiC, network operating systems, and control plane architectures.
  • Experience with switch ASICs, SerDes technologies, retimers, PHYs, and high-speed electrical interconnects.
  • Experience with optical networking technologies including OCI, XPO, CPO, OBO, and optical fabrics.
  • Experience performing architecture tradeoff analysis involving performance, power, cost, reliability, and scalability.
  • Familiarity with AI workloads, collective communication patterns, distributed training, and inference systems.
  • Proven system-level architecture skills spanning networking, compute, power, thermal, and rack integration.
  • 10+ years of experience in network switch system-level design, spanning all phases of product development - from concept through production release.
  • Proven expertise in network switch architecture and development.
  • Demonstrated leadership in network switch design reviews, driving cross-functional alignment across hardware, firmware, software, and infrastructure teams.


Hardware Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 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 $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

About Microsoft

Microsoft is an American multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services. Microsoft’s devices and consumer (D&C) licensing segment licenses the Windows operating system and related software, Microsoft Office for consumers, and the Windows Phone operating system. The company’s computing and gaming hardware segment provides Xbox gaming and entertainment consoles and accessories, second-party and third-party video games, and Xbox Live subscriptions; surface devices and accessories; and Microsoft PC accessories. Its phone hardware segment offers Lumia smartphones and other non-Lumia phones. Its D&C segment provides Windows Store, Xbox Live transactions, and Windows phone store; search advertising; display advertising; Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal; first-party video games; and other consumer products and services as well as operating retail stores. Microsoft’s commercial licensing segments license server products, including Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Windows Embedded; Windows operating system; Microsoft Office for business, including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, and related CALs; Microsoft Dynamics business solutions; and Skype. Its commercial segment offers enterprise services, including premier support services and Microsoft consulting services; commercial cloud comprising Office 365 Commercial, other Microsoft Office online offerings, Dynamics CRM Online, and Microsoft Azure; and other commercial products and online services. The company markets and distributes its products through original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and resellers, as well as online.

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Learn more about Microsoft
Size
181,000 employees
Market Cap
$1,762.4 billion
Industry
Enterprise Technology
Net Income
$51.3 billion
Founded
1975
5 Year Trend
+15.5%
Revenue
$153.2 billion
NASDAQ
MSFT
* Ladders Estimates

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