Principal Silicon Validation Manager
Microsoft
Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence Silicon Engineering organization is innovating at the forefront of custom silicon development, delivering breakthrough AI SoC designs capable of unprecedented performance and efficiency. We are seeking a Principal Silicon Validation Manager to lead multidisciplinary post‑silicon validation efforts across functional, electrical, high‑speed interfaces, memory, power/performance, debug, and tooling domains.
In this leadership role, you will guide a team of talented engineers within the Microsoft Artificial Intelligence System on Chip (AISoC) group, driving technical direction, execution excellence, and cross‑organizational alignment to ensure first‑class silicon quality and readiness.
Microsoft’s mission—to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more—guides how we build teams, develop technology, and engage with each other. We cultivate a culture rooted in respect, integrity, accountability, and inclusion, ensuring every employee thrives and contributes to our shared success.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
Leadership & Strategy
- Drive the end‑to‑end validation strategy, including requirements, environments, tools, methodologies, and debug infrastructure.
- Participating in long‑term validation roadmaps, aligning team execution with organizational priorities and silicon program milestones.
- Lead reviews, set technical direction, and ensure rigorous validation coverage across domains.
Team Management
- Provide technical leadership and coaching for validation engineers across multiple specialties.
- Build an inclusive, high‑performance team culture that encourages innovation, ownership, and continuous improvement.
- Lead a diverse team of validation engineers and vendor partners.
Execution Excellence
- Oversee post‑silicon execution including bring‑up, debug, characterization, and issue resolution across SoC subsystems.
- Ensure timely delivery of high‑quality validation collateral, test content, and debug insights.
- Champion data‑driven decision‑making to prioritize work, identify gaps, and drive closure on issues that impact silicon schedule or quality.
Cross‑Functional Partnership
- Collaborate with architects, RTL designers, DV, firmware, board design, program management, and IP/tool providers to align execution and accelerate debug.
- Influence architecture and design decisions through validation‑driven feedback.
- Drive improvements in methodology, infrastructure, automation, and design‑for‑validation capabilities.
Technical Leadership
- Leverage deep understanding of SoC architecture, system‑level behavior, and platform interactions to guide debug, risk assessments, and technical decisions.
- Provide oversight for pre‑silicon verification interactions and ensure smooth integration with post‑silicon activities.
- Advocate for best‑in‑class debug tools, validation methodologies, and lab capabilities.
Qualifications
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Over 15 years of experience leading engineering teams across firmware, software, and hardware development and validation.
- Proven track record driving SoC and platform initiatives from early architectural concept through final product release.
- Expertise spans debug tools, platform initialization, motherboard bring‑up, drivers, UEFI, BMC, operating systems, virtualization, memory management, RAS, and related domains.
- Demonstrated ability to lead teams, assess validation coverage, debug complex HW/FW/SW interactions, and develop automation scripts (Python or similar).
- Able to meet all Microsoft, customer, and government security and export‑control requirements, including Microsoft Cloud Background Check and eligibility for handling export‑controlled data.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 12+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.
- Extensive leadership experience overseeing post‑silicon validation teams and delivering complex silicon programs.
- Deep expertise across functional validation and related debug methodologies.
- Strong applied knowledge of computer architecture, SoC subsystems, and system‑/platform‑level integration dynamics.
- Proven track record guiding debug and bring‑up for CPUs, SoCs, or IP components.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross‑disciplinary taskforces, drive alignment, and resolve multi‑team technical challenges.
- Familiarity with high‑speed IO technologies (Ethernet, PCIe), board‑level schematics, firmware/system software interactions, and hardware‑software debug workflows.
- Proficiency in scripting languages (Python, C/C++) for tooling and automation leadership.
- Hands‑on experience with silicon debug using on‑chip features (trace, JTAG) and lab equipment (protocol analyzers, BERTs, oscilloscopes).
- Strong communication, collaboration, and leadership capabilities with a focus on empowering diverse and inclusive teams.
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 US. 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.
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, read more about requesting accommodations.