Principal SW/HW Engineer Microsoft
Redmond, WA

Job Description

Are you passionate about building cool devices and technologies? The Surface Team focuses on building devices that fully express the Windows vision. A fundamental part of our strategy is having desirable and powerful devices that enable the experiences people want and elicit their excitement. Creating these devices involves a close partnership between hardware and software engineers, designers, and manufacturing. We are currently building the next generation and Surface needs you!

Surface Quality team is looking for an Engineering Manager who is passionate about driving an outstanding team in charge of building and validating high quality premium devices and working with latest technologies. We are seeking qualified candidates for Hardware and Software Engineer positions to work on our next generation of Surface Devices. You will be responsible for managing a team in charge of the design verification, characterization, tuning and qualification of Surface hardware. You will develop and perform comprehensive verification and characterization strategies and plans that bridge high-level use cases to product architecture/design to effectively and systematically reveal and screen out defects. The Engineer provides critical analysis of data and test results, and drives the right solutions, design changes, optimizations and trade-offs in the context of business priorities. On a frequent basis, you will be reviewing and auditing tests results, while also introducing and enforcing test techniques and methods to ensure robust product qualification. You are a leader and you will lead your team by getting your hands dirty and showing how things get done!

You will work in a fast-paced environment and will need to demonstrate ability to learn new technologies, make progress quickly and with the maturity to identify and fill gaps. Candidates must enjoy working collaboratively with development, program management, hardware engineers, and partner teams, including suppliers and remotely located engineers in Asia.

This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated engineer with passion for quality and integrated experiences to thrive in a small team environment. This person will ensure we are delivering the complete end-to-end hardware and software experiences that delight our customers. The ideal candidate would be an engineer with a Major in CS and Minor in EE, or vice-versa.

Minimum Qualification:

* BS/MS in Computer Science or Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering, or a related degree and equivalent experience.
* Demonstrated ability to design PC Hardware and Software comprehensive validation and verification strategies with supporting documentation including test plans, procedures, and reports.
* 10 or more years of experience in a relevant field.
* 4 or more years of experience in managing a team of software and/or hardware engineers.
* Experience with SW development for the Windows PC Platform.
* Experience in shipping software and/or hardware and having been through more than one shipping cycle (same or different product).
* Working knowledge of 2 or more of the following PC subsystems: PCBAs, WiFi, Bluetooth, Batteries, Networking, 3GPP Technologies, Audio, Camera, Display and Graphics, SSD and Storage, Touch systems, external ports like USB and DisplayPort, Thermal, Power, and UEFI.
* Passionate and knowledgeable about Quality: you have what it needs to ship a high-quality Surface device.
* Ability to demonstrate a strong skill-set in analytical problem solving, a history of increasing responsibilities and decision-making experience.
* Ability to work independently, be self-guided and lead and motivate team engineers.
* Excellent interpersonal skills including written and oral communications.
* Excellent leadership and people management skills.
* Some travel will be required to Asia as appropriate to support validation, design and build activities.

Additional Desirable Qualifications:

* Deep background and understanding in Windows and PC architecture, including driver architecture.
* Experience with Windows OS Kernel. Familiarity with Windows Drivers developing model. Comfortable in using a Windows debugger to quickly identify and resolve issues spanning multiple subsystems.
* Electrical Engineering knowledge or experience.
* Enthusiastic, motivated and self-driven.
* High tolerance to ambiguity and ability make progress in the face of it.
* Fluency in in Chinese/Mandarin.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

* Lead quality validation efforts for a Surface product. This includes the Hardware and Software components. You and your team will be the voice of quality and customer to assure the product has the right quality to satisfy our customers and meet the high quality standards we define for the Microsoft Surface products.
* Manage a team of engineers varying from 5 to 10 engineers.
* Be responsible for all aspects of test engineering and validation of the product hardware and software features, with opportunities to stretch more broadly. This will include working closely with software and hardware developers and program managers, located in Redmond and in Asia, to create solid core designs and enable testability of the products.
* Candidate will work with external suppliers on test execution and test results auditing.
* Responsible for communicating program status and quality updates to upper management and key stakeholders.
* Create and introduce innovative test techniques and methods to ensure robust PC/product qualification.
* Develop and enforce test architectures, methodologies, tools and comprehensive test plans, which will be performed by remotely located suppliers in Asia.
* Conduct technical reviews throughout the development process. This would include reviews of the test architectures, test plans, test cases, and test results from suppliers.
* Review test reports and product defects identified by suppliers. Investigate and debug problems and collaborate with team on solutions for problems and defects.
* Work on new devices at various stages of hardware development including proto-type hardware.
* Identify product risk areas and mitigate them through targeted testing.
* Grow technical skills of your employees and drive their professional careers.