Principal Engineer–Applications

Job Description

Microchip Technology Inc. is seeking a Principal Engineer – Applications to join our rapidly expanding DCS organization in Austin, TX. Our products are widely deployed by top AI servers and storage OEMs, hyperscale cloud providers, and enterprise data-center customers. DCS solutions power workloads ranging from large-scale storage infrastructure to cutting-edge AI/ML training clusters, shaping the next generation of high-performance, secure, and scalable digital systems. Our portfolio spans SAS, PCIe, NVMe, and CXL technologies and includes flash controllers, high-performance switches, RAID controllers, and memory controllers that connect, manage, and secure the world’s data.

Responsibilities

• Lead customer platform enablement for Microchip Switchtec® PCIe® switch products, driving robust, system-level solutions for next-generation data-center and AI platforms.
• Partner with hyperscale AI and global storage customers to define technical requirements, manage deliverables, and support platforms from early board bring-up through production release.
• Provide advanced technical support by driving platform-level debug, resolving complex system issues, and developing high-quality collateral such as hardware guides, reference designs, firmware updates, and software tools.
• Travel to customer sites as needed to debug systems, support deployments, and ensure successful integration of PCIe switch products.
• Deliver technical training and presentations to internal field teams and customer engineering groups; mentor junior engineers and support their technical development.
• Work independently and cross-functionally to solve challenging engineering problems across hardware, firmware, and system integration.
• Lead technical discussions and customer engagements to optimize system design, performance, and reliability.
• Ensure seamless product integration and lifecycle management through close collaboration with customers, product teams, and internal stakeholders.
• Continuously expand expertise in next-generation PCIe, CXL, and storage architectures, as well as Switchtec product capabilities.
• Collaborate with hardware, software, QA, and product management teams to define requirements and deliverables for new and existing products.
• Troubleshoot and resolve firmware and system-level issues using advanced tools, methodologies, and data-center-class debug workflows.

Requirements/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Computer Engineering, with 10+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional, geographically distributed teams to drive engineering excellence and successful project outcomes.
• Working knowledge of PCI Express (PCIe).
• Strong software and firmware development skills, with deep experience debugging multi-threaded architectures.
• Proficiency in C and C++ programming; experience developing test scripts in Perl, Bash, or Python.
• Prior experience with UNIX and Windows (Wintel) driver development, as well as firmware development on lightweight embedded operating systems such as ThreadX, VxWorks, eCos, or similar RTOS platforms.
• Customer-facing engineering experience, including technical support, issue analysis, and root-cause debugging.
• Hands-on experience using bench-top equipment such as protocol analyzers, exercisers, logic analyzers, and other storage-related test tools.
• Strong understanding of system-level firmware/hardware interactions, with excellent analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in the storage industry, with familiarity collaborating closely with marketing and sales teams.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively engage across cross-functional engineering and customer teams.
• Hands-on experience with RISC-based embedded processors, preferably MIPS.
• Strong debugging capabilities, including experience with kernel-level debugging tools (e.g., WinDbg), JTAG, and serial interfaces.
• Comprehensive understanding of computer system design, including server and storage architectures, microprocessors, I/O interfaces, electronics hardware development, and basic programming in Python and C.
• Proficiency in system and hardware debugging using laboratory tools such as multimeters, oscilloscopes, and Linux-based diagnostic utilities.