Principal Optical Engineer

Overview Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) is the team behind Microsoft’s expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” mission. SCHIE delivers the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's over 200 online businesses including Bing, MSN, Office 365, Xbox Live, Teams, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with our server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide and we are looking for passionate engineers to help achieve that mission.

As Microsoft's cloud business continues to grow the ability to deploy new offerings and hardware infrastructure on time, in high volume with high quality and lowest cost is of paramount importance. To achieve this goal, the Cloud Hardware Systems Engineering (CHSE) team is instrumental in defining and delivering operational measures of success for hardware manufacturing, improving the planning process, quality, delivery, scale and sustainability related to Microsoft cloud hardware. We are looking for engineers with a dedicated passion for customer focused solutions, insight and industry knowledge to envision and implement future technical solutions that will manage and optimize the Cloud infrastructure.

We are seeking a Principal Optical Engineer to lead the implementation, integration, qualification, and high-volume deployment of optical interconnect solutions for Microsoft cloud and AI infrastructure. Working in partnership with platform and optical architecture teams, this role translates approved architectures and technology selections into module, fiber, connector, rack-integration, supplier, validation, and manufacturing requirements and drives them from product definition through fleet deployment.

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Responsibilities

• Partner with platform and optical architecture teams to translate approved optical architectures and technology selections into deployable product requirements, interfaces, acceptance criteria, and implementation plans.
• Own product-level requirements and tradeoffs for optical modules and engines, fiber assemblies, connectors, fiber-management systems, and rack-level optical paths across performance, power, thermal constraints, reliability, serviceability, manufacturability, cost, schedule, and supply continuity.
• Drive optical interconnect productization from product definition through design maturity, prototype integration, interoperability, qualification, production release, manufacturing ramp, and fleet deployment.
• Lead cross-functional implementation and design reviews spanning optics, electrical interfaces, SI/PI, mechanical tolerances, thermal integration, firmware and telemetry, rack integration, validation, reliability, manufacturing, and serviceability.
• Define and drive component-, module-, assembly-, rack-, and system-level validation, qualification, reliability, inspection, and production-test strategies with evidence-based coverage and exit criteria.
• Lead resolution of complex module-, fiber-, connector-, rack-, manufacturing-, and field-level issues by organizing cross-team debug, correlating supplier and system data, and driving verified corrective and preventive actions.
• Provide technical direction to optical-module, fiber, cable, connector, ODM, contract-manufacturing, and test-equipment partners; establish deliverables, design-review criteria, quality expectations, yield targets, escalation paths, and readiness gates.
• Drive supplier selection and production readiness across design maturity, DFM/DFT/DFR, process capability, yield, quality, cost, capacity, continuity of supply, and change control. \
• Identify productization and deployment risks early, communicate options and consequences to senior stakeholders, and drive decisions that balance performance, reliability, serviceability, schedule, cost, and fleet-scale operability.
• Mentor engineers and create reusable implementation specifications, qualification methods, manufacturing controls, supplier scorecards, design guides, and lessons learned across optical-interconnect programs.

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 are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following specialized security screenings:• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field and 10+ years of technical engineering experience, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience developing and delivering optical modules, fiber assemblies, connectors, fiber-management systems, or rack-level optical interconnects across the hardware product lifecycle.
• Experience leading optical hardware implementation, integration, validation, qualification, manufacturing readiness, and production deployment for complex cloud, networking, or AI infrastructure.
• Experience providing technical leadership across internal organizations and external module, cable, connector, ODM, contract-manufacturing, or test partners.
• Experience productizing high-speed optical modules, optical engines, fiber assemblies, connector systems, or rack-scale optical interconnects for cloud, networking, or AI infrastructure.
• Knowledge of pluggable, near-packaged, or co-packaged optical solutions sufficient to translate architecture interfaces into implementable module, fiber, connector, thermal, mechanical, telemetry, and serviceability requirements.
• Experience with 112G/224G-class electrical interfaces, PAM4 optical links, link budgets, FEC considerations, interoperability, and end-to-end system margin analysis.
• Deep knowledge of fiber-optic connector and fiber-management technologies, including MPO, MMC, LC, lensed or expanded-beam interfaces, blind-mate designs, routing, cleaning, inspection, and high-density rack integration.
• Hands-on experience with optical and high-speed electrical characterization, system bring-up, margin analysis, and correlation of supplier data, laboratory measurements, and production results.
• Experience defining DVT, qualification, reliability, inspection, production-test, DOE, FMEA, process-capability, yield, and quality-control plans for high-volume optical hardware.
• Experience directing optical-module, fiber, cable, connector, ODM, contract-manufacturing, and test-equipment partners across design maturity, cost, quality, capacity, supply continuity, change control, and ramp.

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.

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.