Sr. Manufacturing 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 online businesses, including Microsoft Azure, Office 365, Teams, OneDrive, Xbox Live, Bing, and MSN. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering trusted experiences to customers and partners worldwide.

As Microsoft's cloud business continues to grow, deploying new hardware infrastructure on time, at high volume, with high quality and competitive cost is increasingly important. The Hardware, Infrastructure Management, and Fundamentals Engineering team defines and delivers operational measures of success for cloud hardware manufacturing, improving planning, quality, delivery, scale, and sustainability.

We are looking for a Senior Hardware Manufacturing Engineer who combines deep manufacturing engineering fundamentals with strategic thinking and disciplined program execution.

The Manufacturing Engineering Group collaborates with Microsoft's suppliers, design engineering teams, quality and reliability teams, business managers, sourcing, and supply chain organizations to ensure new cloud hardware is available to customers on time and at high levels of quality. A critical part of this work is ensuring Microsoft-designed hardware can be built at supplier factories safely, efficiently, repeatedly, and at scale.

In this role, you will lead manufacturing strategy and execution from early design engagement through NPI, qualification, production ramp, and sustaining operations for complex custom-silicon and cloud-hardware platforms, including GPU and AI systems. Particular emphasis will include manufacturing engineering for GPU and AI systems using high-speed optical networking, where optical modules, high-speed cable and fiber assemblies, liquid-cooled trays, rack-level fiber infrastructure, and cross-supplier interoperability create new manufacturing, qualification, reliability, and production-ramp challenges. You will understand product and process details, identify systemic manufacturing risks, translate high-level objectives into executable plans, and deliver results by influencing cross-functional v-teams and external manufacturing partners. You will solve ambiguous technical and operational problems, align diverse stakeholders, establish clear manufacturing plans and metrics, and drive risks to closure across geographically distributed teams.

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Responsibilities

• Manufacturing Technical Leadership:Serve as the senior manufacturing engineering lead for assigned cloud-hardware, GPU, optical-networking, and custom-silicon programs. Own the manufacturing technical strategy from early architecture through sustaining production, ensuring products can be built, tested, repaired, scaled, and supported reliably across global factories.

• Design for Manufacturing and Product Industrialization: Lead DFM, DFA, testability, serviceability, packaging, automation, tolerance, and sustainability reviews with design, NPI, quality, reliability, supplier, and factory teams. Identify product and process constraints early, quantify risk, and influence architecture and design decisions to improve manufacturability, yield, cost, reliability, and time to market.

• Manufacturing Architecture and Technical Ownership: Serve as the manufacturing technical authority for assigned products and systems. Translate product architecture into production processes, equipment and tooling strategies, assembly sequences, inspection and test methods, process controls, repair boundaries, supplier requirements, and factory qualification plans. Maintain accountability for the technical integrity of the manufacturing solution from early architecture through sustaining production.

• GPU and Optical Networking Manufacturing: Lead manufacturing architecture, DFM, process development, and production-readiness activities for GPU and AI systems using optical and high-speed interconnect technologies. Drive manufacturability across optical engines and modules, high-speed electrical flyover cables, multifiber connectors, fiber trunks and shuffle assemblies, accelerator trays, switch trays, rack-level fiber management, liquid cooling, and related infrastructure.

• Optical Process Qualification and Factory Test: Develop and qualify contamination-controlled handling, cleaning, inspection, installation, routing, configuration-verification, and test processes for optical and high-speed interconnect assemblies. Establish factory coverage for connector integrity, cable and fiber mapping, optical-path continuity, link bring-up, telemetry, firmware interoperability, power sequencing, cooling integrity, serviceability, and system-level fault isolation.

• Optical Supplier and Ramp Readiness: Drive qualification and production readiness across optical-module, laser, connector, cable, fiber-management, rack, cooling, PCB, and contract-manufacturing partners. Own supplier DFM closure, process capability, yield improvement, capacity validation, interoperability, second-source readiness, and contingency planning for maturing optical technologies.

• NPI Manufacturing Execution and Technical Leadership: Convert product architecture and roadmaps into integrated manufacturing plans covering prototype builds, EV/ DV/ PV, qualification, and volume ramp. Establish technically grounded readiness criteria for product design, process capability, equipment, tooling, fixtures, test, materials, repair, capacity, and supplier controls. Lead critical builds, make evidence-based go/no-go recommendations, and drive recovery when product or process maturity does not meet the required manufacturing bar.

• Factory Operations and Capacity Readiness: Assess and develop production-line capability, factory layouts, staffing models, equipment plans, tooling, fixtures, test coverage, material readiness, repair operations, and capacity models. Identify gaps before build start and lead cross-functional recovery actions to protect schedule, quality, capacity, and supply continuity. Provide direct technical leadership during critical factory builds and production excursions.

• Supplier Management and Production Risk Mitigation: Provide technical leadership to contract manufacturers, ODMs, OEMs, component suppliers, and sub-tier partners. Assess manufacturing capability, process maturity, qualification status, compliance, capacity, interoperability, and business-continuity risks. Influence supplier investment and corrective actions while aligning sourcing, supply chain, engineering, and program stakeholders.

• Manufacturing Process and Supplier Readiness: Lead supplier process qualification and readiness assessments, including process audits, PPAP activities, control plans, fixture and tooling acceptance, incoming-quality criteria, line validation, test coverage, and repair readiness. Develop and standardize manufacturing processes that enable repeatable production, measurable yield improvement, and scalable ramp across global manufacturing sites.

• Quality Systems and Process Control: Apply statistical process control, process-capability analysis, measurement-system analysis, control plans, inspection data, and yield analytics to reduce variation and detect defects early. Drive practical automation, digital monitoring, vision inspection, AI-enabled analytics, and factory-data improvements where they provide measurable quality, efficiency, or operational value.

• Root Cause Analysis and Continuous Improvement: Lead complex manufacturing issue triage and structured problem-solving using methods such as 8D, fishbone, 5-Why, PFMEA, DFMEA, and Six Sigma. Establish containment, isolate root cause, verify corrective-action effectiveness, prevent recurrence, and capture reusable lessons across products, suppliers, factories, and programs.

• Technical Validation and Risk Management: Own manufacturing risk identification and mitigation across NUDD, PFMEA, qualification, yield, tooling, materials, supplier readiness, schedule, and capacity. Lead engineering-change impact assessments, tolerance analyses, simulations, failure-mode evaluations, and technical trade-offs. Escalate risks with clear options, supporting data, business impact, and actionable recommendations.

• Metrics, Governance, and Executive Communication: Establish dashboards and operating mechanisms for build readiness, qualification, yield, defect trends, issue aging, risk closure, supplier performance, capacity, and corrective actions. Convert detailed manufacturing data into concise technical and business narratives that enable timely decisions by engineering, program, and executive leadership.

• Cross-Program Strategy and Knowledge Transfer: Identify common manufacturing challenges across product generations and develop reusable standards, roadmaps, supplier strategies, qualification methods, and process improvements. Transfer lessons learned across products, suppliers, and factories; mentor engineers; strengthen the technical capability of the broader virtual team; and create clarity and accountability in ambiguous execution environments.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Manufacturing, Material, Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal, or Industrial Engineering, or related field AND 4+ years experience in a manufacturing environment /repair OR Bachelor's Degree in Manufacturing, Material, Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal, or Industrial Engineering, or related field AND 5+ years experience in a manufacturing environment/repair OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications (Desired):

• Doctorate in Manufacturing, Material, Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal, or Industrial Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years experience in a manufacturing environment/repair OR Master's Degree in Manufacturing, Material, Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal, or Industrial Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years experience in a manufacturing environment/repair OR Bachelor's Degree in Manufacturing, Material, Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal, or Industrial Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years experience in a manufacturing environment/repair OR equivalent experience. Patent or track record of engineering excellency.

• Strong leadership, facilitation, communication, problem-solving, and L1/L2 triage skills, with proven effectiveness across all organizational levels.

• Ability to prioritize and execute in high-pressure, fast-paced environments while independently driving complex manufacturing challenges to resolution.

• Deep hardware manufacturing expertise spanning assembly, test, tooling, fixtures, process qualification, factory operations, quality systems, repair, and production ramp.

• Experience leading manufacturing engineering for AI, GPU, HPC, or rack-scale systems involving optical networking, high-speed interconnects, custom silicon, and disaggregated architectures.

• Hands-on experience developing, qualifying, and manufacturing optical and high-speed connectivity components, including transceivers, cables, fiber assemblies, connectors, and related technologies.

• Expertise in NPI and defining factory test, qualification, and reliability strategies for high-speed electrical and optical systems, including bring-up, interoperability, telemetry, fault isolation, and configuration control.

• Proven ability to influence product architecture and design through DFM, testability, process capability, risk management, manufacturing trade-offs, and engineering change assessments.

• Experience leading NPI, production ramp, and supplier ecosystems across globally distributed teams, ODMs/OEMs, contract manufacturers, system integrators, and sub-tier suppliers.

• Strong track record applying data-driven manufacturing methodologies (SPC, PFMEA, 8D, Six Sigma, yield analytics, MSA, control plans), driving scalable improvements, translating technical data into executive recommendations, and utilizing PLM/MES/project-tracking tools, must meet security-screening requirements, if any.

Manufacturing Engineering IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $160,200 - $261,000 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

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. (