Stephen Montgomery

About Stephen Montgomery

I take on risky, disruptive projects. One in particular, an ASIC, needed 50 people. I did it with 15. At Surface, I put millions of devices on store shelves and introduced features that have made hundreds of millions of PC\'s gain better battery life. In WSSI we\'re doing exciting things to take what we\'ve learned and work with the Windows ecosystem and our silicon partners for awesome new PCs and devices, ecosystem wide.How? I\'m a team builder. In my career I\'ve put together teams big and small that operate as a unit greater than the sum of its parts. It\'s simple: Provide the big picture, set the boundaries and give the team freedom to innovate and find solutions to problems. Operate like an entrepreneurial startup inside the confines a big company. Process is not a substitute for leadership, so timely and flexible decision-making is huge. Trust. It\'s everything. Because I\'ve set the big picture and have empowered the team, they have the freedom to rapidly find solutions. The results? Industry leading battery life. We took a negative and made it into a huge positive for Surface. Oh, and the innovations I helped drive are now in everyone\'s PC, everywhere.I have broad skills in many areas: deep research experience, I\'ve taken disruptive technologies through pathfinding and development, and have extensive business training. I speak electrical and software as well as mechanical:*High level software feature definition and program management *Platform silicon integration: power integrity, electronic cooling design/analysis, thermal management, system design, power architecture, packaging*Program management - silicon and platform integration*Thermal composites using carbon nanotubes*Data center analysis*Power electronics, including integrated silicon voltage regulators*IO, including specification developmentGuess what? I also do business strategy. I\'ve participated in corporate strategic discussions and prepared material for the CEO on our competitors\' intentions. I\'ve done estimates for licensing deals.I also teach the lead course in a certificate degree program at the U. of Washington.

Experience

1. Principal Silicon Performance Lead

   Microsoft

   Aug 2025 — Present · Redmond, WA, US

   Beginning my second tour of duty at Surface in a development role, I am responsible for defining future workloads and workload types with attendant performance and power metrics to help create new experiences for the PC ecosystem. I work closely with our silicon partners to better intersect future silicon architectures with device experiences, form factors and system requirements. I\'m currently working on system integration and design trade off guidelines for future PCs.

Education

• Purdue University

  Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering

• Purdue University

  MS, Mechanical Engineering

  1996 — 2000

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  BS, Mechanical Engineering

• University of Washington

  MBA, Business Administration

  2007 — 2008

Skills

• Strategic Analysis
• Engineering Management
• Business Strategy
• Program Management
• Silicon
• Mechanical Engineering
• Signaling
• Integration
• Simulations
• Fluid Dynamics
• Strategic Planning
• Mems
• Thermodynamics
• Engineering
• Organizational Design
• Microprocessors
• Colloids
• Control System Design
• Power Electronics
• Strategic Thinking
• Thermal Design
• Materials Science
• Failure Analysis
• R&D
• Thermal Analysis
• Nanotechnology
• Thermal Management
• Technology Development
• Mobile Devices
• Asic
• Control Systems Design
• Design of Experiments
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Marketing Strategy
• Accounting
• Semiconductors
• Pro Engineer
• Leadership
• Entrepreneurship
• Heat Transfer