Microsoft’s Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) is the engine that powers our cloud services. As a Principal Program Manager, you will perform a key role in delivering the core infrastructure and foundation technologies for Microsoft's online services including Bing, Office 365, XBOX, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform.   

Empower Billions!   

The Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) business is critical to delivering on this mission and vision, building and operating Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, which is growing rapidly in response to unprecedented demand for Microsoft services. CO+I operate one of the largest cloud networks on the planet – comprised of more than 160 Datacenters, 130+ edge sites, 2+ million miles of fiber, and millions of servers and network and storage devices.  

The CO+I Operational Excellence team is seeking a Principal Program Manager with the passion to drive value across our data center network. Strong interpersonal skills, using data to inform processes, effective collaboration across internal and external stakeholders, and the drive to continuously improve and achieve business objectives will be critical to success in this role.    

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day. 

Responsibilities

Provide thought leadership and technical subject matter expertise related to design, equipment, engineering, process, and operations within our datacenter Critical Environments. 

Act on opportunities to increase agility, and contribute to workstreams to evolve processes, services, and solutions for Operations and Service Level Agreements for CO+I 

Coordinate closely with program stakeholders and datacenter field operations to foster alignment and partnerships for business success. 

Continuous Improvement: always seeking ways to streamline, automate, and simplify processes. This will include deployment of tools, proficiency in data analytics, and ability to work with engineering groups to provide system requirements. 

Apply a broad and deep knowledge of customers, partners, internal groups, and end users to advise on strategies or technical solutions. Plan, strategize, and influence priorities and decisions to increase satisfaction, performance, and the user experience across our datacenters. 

Leadership in demonstrating technologies, processes, tools, and methodologies to design and deliver solutions and support operations. 

Use voice of customer frameworks and industry metrics to identify opportunities that span multiple regions, partners, and internal groups to develop scalable strategies for improvement. 

Define best practices for business cases that drive long-term, integrated, cross-business solutions and roadmaps that improve satisfaction and performance and mitigate risk. 

Define the direction and approach for the delivery of multiple products, services, processes, or technologies that span divisions, regions, or geographies, by using established project, program, and process management methodologies to achieve clear and measurable outcomes for the business. 

Accountable for establishing policies and procedures for the delivery of products, services, processes, or technologies. 

Drive the identification and prioritization of opportunities for improvement across processes or services. Evangelizes proposed changes across groups. 

Drive simplification and automation to evolve processes, services, and solutions, to increase agility and efficiencies and lower costs. 

As a Principal Program Manager, some of the skills that will contribute to your success in meeting performance objectives include: 

Operational Planning & Project Management: Show structured thinking, planning, and the ability to execute by working through others, influencing without authority, and dealing with ambiguity. 

Exceptional written and Interpersonal skills: Communicate effectively and concisely with stakeholders, senior managers, and leaders about our programs and objectives. 

Customer/Stakeholder Focus: Gather stakeholder impressions of services and programs, integrating this feedback into decision making. Allocate and align resources to optimize the stakeholder and partner experience. 

Performance Goal and Standards Setting: Develop and communicate to realistic timelines via plans that consider potential obstacles and immediate + long-term consequences. 

Understand datacenter business objectives: Critically review multiple plans and adjust as needed. Proactively communicate and address necessary trade-offs. 

Flexibility and Adaptability: Regularly scan the environment to help anticipate changes that could affect key programs and projects. Effectively changes plans, goals, actions or priorities to respond to changing situations. 

Strengths in problem solving, issue-resolution, attention to detail, and ability to balance multiple priorities. 

Ability to synthesize information, business requirements, and stakeholder needs to make informed decisions and provide recommendations. 

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with experience engaging and influencing cross-functional stakeholders and senior executives. 

Strengths in problem solving, issue-resolution, attention to detail, and ability to balance multiple priorities. 

Strong sense of ownership, urgency, drive, independence, and flexibility. 

Ability to think strategically while also staying on top of required day-to-day tactical execution, manage tradeoffs, and evaluate opportunities along with generating new ideas to meet business goals. 

Strong analytical and quantitative skills; experience using data and metrics to test theories, confirm or disprove assumptions, and measure success. 

Strong presentation and facilitation skills, demonstrating the ability to both write and communicate clearly, effectively, and concisely to all levels of business and suppliers.   

Ability to collaborate and influence across multiple levels of an organization, work through ambiguity, successfully manage complexity and multiple priorities, self-motivated and thrives on minimal supervision, and work under continual deadline pressure in an extremely volatile and high paced environment.  

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:  

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, or other applicable fields of study combined with relevant work experience. 

7-10+ years of technical program or product management experience, or other relevant industry experience leading multi-disciplinary initiatives or programs. 

Preferred Qualifications 

MBA or other advanced degree preferred. 

4+ years working with Software/System/Product engineering teams. 

Experience with Agile/Scrum development methods. 

Certification or equivalent experience applying Lean, Six Sigma, or other process improvement.  

PMP and other project management certification preferred. 

Experience with design methodologies such as Human Centered Design, Design Thinking, or other relevant framework preferred. 

Ability to facilitate change management. Awareness of IT Service Operations fundamentals (ITIL, MOF, OLA/SLA, CSI, etc.) an added benefit. 

Previous experience with MS Cloud Services and Platforms (e.g. Azure, Office 365, Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, Azure DevOps, etc.). 

Experience with developing and implementing organizational frameworks, standards, and processes. 

Proven track record of simplifying complex problems to drive alignment and execution. 

Proven track record of leading and implementing large scale transformations and/or driving cultural change management. 

Ability to deal well with – and potentially thrive – in ambiguity and successfully execute across a complex, highly-matrixed environment. 

Strong communication skills with an ability to adapt and tailor communications for different audiences. 

Through behaviors and actions, set an example and represent Microsoft Values, One Microsoft culture, and 

Leadership principles (create clarity, drive energy, deliver success). 

Experience leading discussions and presenting business & technical information to senior executives, C-suite, customers, and stakeholders.  

Experience within a data center environment, manufacturing, logistics, facility management, maritime engineering, energy sector, oil and gas industry, healthcare, or another type of operations environment is a plus. 

Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter. 

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.