Senior Software Engineer - Firmware

Overview

Do you want to be part of a startup culture while working for Microsoft? Do you like being close to the customer, ensuring Microsoft devices delight users? Want to work as part of a dynamic team?

The Surface Post Launch Engineering (PLE) team is looking for someone that can help shape the future of devices by being the face of our in-market products.

Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Do you enjoy working close to the hardware and solving complex system-level problems? The Surface PLE team is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to lead UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) firmware efforts with a strong focus on enabling AI capabilities on modern devices. You will drive firmware architecture, performance, and security for AI-accelerated hardware, ensuring seamless integration between silicon, firmware, and Windows.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and implementation of UEFI firmware features that enable AI workloads on Surface devices (e.g., NPU/GPU initialization, power/thermal management, memory configuration, and secure boot paths for AI accelerators).
• Own platform bring-up and boot-time optimizations for AI-enabled scenarios, including fast model loading and deterministic initialization.
• Collaborate with hardware, OS, security, and ML teams to define firmware interfaces for AI accelerators and to ensure end-to-end reliability and security.
• Debug and resolve complex system-level issues across firmware, drivers, and hardware interfaces (I2C, SPI, PCIe, USB), using JTAG, serial consoles, and logic analyzers.
• Drive architecture and code reviews, establish best practices, and mentor engineers on firmware design, ACPI/ASL, and AI-related firmware requirements.
• Define telemetry and diagnostics for AI-accelerated features; partner with validation to create robust test strategies for AI workloads.
• Contribute to firmware security (secure boot, measured boot) and supply chain integrity for AI subsystems.
  
  

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python.  OR equivalent experience. 
• 6+ years of overall experience in system software or firmware development, with significant ownership of UEFI/BIOS projects.
• Strong proficiency in C/C++ and deep familiarity with UEFI specification and firmware architecture.
• Proven experience enabling AI workloads on devices, including firmware support for NPUs/GPUs (initialization, power/thermal, memory and QoS, boot config, secure paths).
• Experience with ACPI and ASL programming and debugging; ability to author and troubleshoot ACPI methods and tables.
• Hands-on experience with debugging tools such as JTAG, serial consoles, and logic analyzers; strong low-level debugging skills.
• Solid understanding of computer architecture and hardware interfaces.
  
  

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. “
• Travel: Occasional travel (0% to 25%) is expected in this role.
  
  

• 8+ years of overall experience in system software or firmware development, with significant ownership of UEFI/BIOS projects.
• Experience with ARM and/or x86 platforms.
• Familiarity with Windows OS internals and ACPI.
• Exposure to secure boot, measured boot, and firmware security concepts.
• Experience with on-device ML/AI frameworks (e.g., ONNX Runtime, TFLite), model deployment pipelines, and performance profiling for inference workloads.
• Understanding of AI accelerator programming models, firmware-level drivers, and coordination between firmware and OS drivers for power/thermal/QoS.
• Strong problem-solving, architectural thinking, and mentoring skills; experience working in Agile teams.
  
  

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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.