Microsoft looks for more chip engineers as custom silicon ambitions grow | Tech News

Microsoft looks for more chip engineers as custom silicon ambitions grow

Microsoft’s new Surface Pro X hybrid laptop and tablet come with a chip called Microsoft SQ1, based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon product but with some changes.

By: DINA BASS
| Updated on: Aug 20 2022, 17:10 IST
The Microsoft Corp. Surface Pen is seen on the Surface Pro X hybrid tablet and laptop computer during a product event in New York
The Microsoft Corp. Surface Pen is seen on the Surface Pro X hybrid tablet and laptop computer during a product event in New York (Bloomberg)
The Microsoft Corp. Surface Pen is seen on the Surface Pro X hybrid tablet and laptop computer during a product event in New York
The Microsoft Corp. Surface Pen is seen on the Surface Pro X hybrid tablet and laptop computer during a product event in New York (Bloomberg)

On the same day Microsoft Corp. showed off some custom processors in its new Surface products in New York, the company was trying to hire even more chip designers to fuel its growing microprocessor-design ambitions. 

The company held a recruiting event Wednesday in Austin, Texas, seeking experienced "custom CPU/SoC design" engineers for jobs in Raleigh, North Carolina; Sunnyvale, California; and Fort Collins, Colorado, in addition to its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, according to a post on Microsoft-owned LinkedIn. SoC stands for system on a chip and it's a single piece of silicon with multiple chips — widely used for smartphones.

ALSO READ: Here's how Microsoft is looking to rewrite history on its phone business

All the locations except Redmond have deep chip talent connections. Qualcomm Inc.'s former server chip team was based in Raleigh and Sunnyvale is near Santa Clara, which is home to Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. AMD has another site in Fort Collins.

ALSO READ: Microsoft returns to smartphone business with dual-screen Surface Duo

Microsoft works with each of those companies to customise chips and may be interested in recruiting some of their workers. The company has been increasingly designing parts or all of processors for things like HoloLens augmented reality goggles, cloud infrastructure and its own hardware. The overhauled Surface Pro X hybrid laptop and tablet announced Wednesday features a chip called Microsoft SQ1, which is based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon product with some changes, and also contains an artificial intelligence processor.

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First Published Date: 03 Oct, 09:22 IST
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