Principal Hardware Security & Platform Engineer at Microsoft
Redmond, WA
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Aug 9, 2026
Redmond, WA
Sep 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role focuses on defining architecture and technical roadmaps for trusted infrastructure, hardware root of trust, and cloud-scale cryptographic services platforms. The engineer will own chip and platform requirements documents, drive cross-functional alignment across silicon, firmware, software, and datacenter teams, and build engineering tooling, automation, and observability solutions. It suits a seasoned systems or platform architect with deep hardware security expertise.
Senior level · 8+ years · Bachelor's required
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $119,144 (middle half $81,115–$160,963).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Aug 11, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (4)
The posting contains two overlapping experience requirements: a minimum of 7-8 years (depending on degree level) stated in one block, and '12+ years' stated in a separate qualifications block. The 8-year figure is used as the overall years minimum (the lower hard gate), but the 12-year figure is the more substantive practical threshold and likely reflects the true hiring bar.
The scripting/language requirement lists Python, C/C++, Go, and PowerShell as alternatives ('or similar languages'). Because the posting treats them as interchangeable options for the same requirement, they are grouped with alternatives rather than emitted as fully independent must-have skills.
SOC classification is Medium confidence: the role is primarily a hardware/platform systems architect spanning silicon, firmware, and cloud infrastructure — it does not map cleanly to a single standard SOC. 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is the best fit; 15-1252 (Software Developers) is the runner-up given the software development and tooling responsibilities.
Ignored 3 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): hardware root of trust, key management, firmware engineering.
Read the full posting
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