Principal Thermal Engineer

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, Skype, 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. As Microsoft's cloud business continues to grow the ability to deploy new offerings and hardware (HW) infrastructure on time, in high volume with high quality and lowest cost is of paramount importance.  

To achieve this goal, we are looking for a Principal Thermal Engineer join our team!

• Provide technical leadership for the design and development of complex liquid cooling solutions including liquid to air heat exchangers and CDUs at the rack and server level in datacenters.

• Oversee thermal and mechanical implementation of fluid distribution systems within server racks, including:

  • Fluid flow and pressure management

  • Cold plate design and reliability

  • Pump design and reliability

  • Material compatibility and corrosion resistance

  • Fluid/air volume management

• Utilize expertise in fluid systems design to deliver high-performance liquid cooling with production-level reliability.

Technical Leadership within Azure’s Thermal Engineering Team:

• Contribute to the design of servers, racks, and associated datacenter building blocks.

• Develop interface management for liquid systems and establish scalable development standards.

• Collaborate with Microsoft’s datacenter engineering and operations teams to ensure smooth deployment of Azure systems.

• Manage supplier relationships to ensure robust designs and predictive roadmaps for future technologies.

• Work with ODM and SI partners for proper development and implementation of liquid cooling technologies.

Documentation and Cross-Program Leadership:

• Create product specifications, interface control documents, and collateral to clearly communicate design intent and expectations.

• Provide technical leadership across programs to ensure integrated and robust fluid systems design.

• Potentially lead specific programs as the primary Thermal Engineer, developing complete cooling solutions.

Principal Thermal Engineer Role Impact:

• Ensure a reliable, systems-focused approach to liquid cooling for Microsoft datacenters globally.

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.
• 7+ years of industry experience related to  thermal systems design and development. 
• 5 + years of thermal and mechanical design principles,  fluid dynamics,  pumps and compressors, mechanical vibration and shock, valve and manifold design, material compatibility, manufacturing processes, and validation 

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 

• 10 years of experience in the electronics industry specifically related to high-powered liquid cooled servers 
• More than 2 yrs experience with  a thermal simulation tool ( e.g; Flotherm, Ansys, Icepak, etc.) 
• Experience with prototyping, thermal design and development, and high-volume manufacturing of electronic enclosures 
• Experience partnering with and overseeing ODM engineers 
• Experience in pump design, fluid loop sensors and controls, heat exchanger design 
• Familiar with CAD software tools PTC Creo, Windchill or similar software (ie Solidworks, Catia) 
• Experience leading complex design programs 
• Experience with development of specifications, interface control documents, and managing design requirements 
• Analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify and resolve mechanical design issues and optimize system performance 

Hardware Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $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

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until May 30th, 2025.

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.

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