The news that Microsoft is looking for developers to work on its next console will only be something we will only be able to appreciate a few years from now. Regardless of the fact that a next Xbox may be years from release, it's good to know that Microsoft has begun development on something beyond the current Xbox 360, Xbox 720 or Xbox 3.
According to a discovery on the Beyond 3D forum, Microsoft advertised three job positions on social networking site LinkedIn. The first opening seeks a Graphics Hardware Architect to work with a team "responsible for defining and delivering next-generation console architectures from conception through implementation."
"The ideal candidate will have been the lead architect and/or implementation lead of a 3D graphics core. The candidate must have taken designs from investigation to end-customer shipment during their career."
The long and short of it is that they're looking for someone with the engineering ability to develop their next platform.
A second position seeks a new Senior Architect and Performance Engineer for the Xbox Console Architecture Group, whose job involves "performance evaluation and modeling."
The third and final position is looking for a Senior Hardware Design Verification Engineer whose responsibility involves the "design verification and qualification of the Xbox console at the component, motherboard, and system levels."
It's difficult to say at what stage the development of a new console is in at the moment, but we can rest assured that Microsoft is going to put up one hell of a competition against Sony in the coming years.