Principal Optical Engineer

Job ID: 200055787Posted: 2026-09-16Location: United States, Washington, RedmondSalary: USD $142,800 - $274,800 per yearEmployment type: Full-TimeWork site: 3 days / week in-officeRole type: Individual ContributorTravel: Less than 25%Profession: Hardware EngineeringDiscipline: Hardware EngineeringCompany: MicrosoftOverviewMicrosoft 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 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 drive the architectural design, production roadmap, engineering efforts for next-generation optical interconnects in hyperscale AI infrastructure. This role will serve as an architect/engineer responsible for Cloud/AI optical interconnects, and rack-scale fiber management. The candidate will work across silicon, systems, networking, platform architecture, datacenter engineering, and external ecosystem partners to bring innovative optical technologies from concept through large-scale production deployment. The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in optical systems with strong architecture, ecosystem, and execution skills, and can influence platform-level decisions across multiple generations of AI infrastructure. #SCHIE ResponsibilitiesThis individual will serve as one of Microsoft's technical leaders in optics and photonics, shaping the company's multi-generation roadmap for Cloud/AI interconnects and rack-scale optical infrastructure. Success in this role will directly influence platform architecture, deployment scalability, power efficiency, cost structure, and time-to-revenue for future AI systems. Define and drive Microsoft's optical interconnect strategy for next-generation AI platforms. Evaluate emerging technologies and determine the optimal migration path across multiple platform generations. Lead architecture and product definition for rack-scale fiber management supporting AI clusters Define bandwidth density, latency, reliability, power efficiency, serviceability, manufacturability, and cost targets. Lead development of rack-scale fiber management solutions including Fiber shuffles, Fiber connectors, and fiber cabling Develop standards and best practices for large-scale deployment of optical infrastructure across AI datacenters. Drive supplier roadmaps to align with Microsoft's future platform requirements. Influence industry standards and ecosystem direction through joint development initiatives and technical forums. Drive architecture reviews and technical decision making across multiple organizations. Guide optical technologies through proof-of-concept, qualification, productization, manufacturing readiness, and fleet deployment. Support root-cause analysis and operational issue resolution for deployed systems. QualificationsRequired 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 is required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following specialized security screening: Microsoft Cloud Background Check. This position is required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter. Preferred Qualifications: Knowledge and experience of Fiber Optics including related tools, devices, processes, design, operations, or manufacturing, etc. Doctorate Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years of technical engineering experience OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years of technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field AND 12+ years of technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience. Deep expertise and hands-on in one or more of the following: Data center networkingHigh-speed copper or optical interconnectsHigh-speed optical transmission systemsCo-Packaged Optics (CPO) or Near-Packaged Optics (NPO)Silicon PhotonicsPluggable opticsAdvanced packagingRack-scale fiber management Experience with AI infrastructure, GPU fabrics, InfiniBand, Ethernet, or UALink ecosystems. Knowledge of Optical Engineering and Optical Engineering concepts, testing procedures, standards, tools and appropriate analysis methods.Experience developing high-density fiber infrastructure, including fiber shuffle solutions, patch panels, connectors, cable assemblies, and rack-scale optical systems. Hands-on testing and validation experience in active and passive fiber optic components and end-to-end fiber links. 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: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.