Easements Program Manager

Overview

Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO+I) delivers the global datacenter infrastructure capacity that powers Microsoft's cloud platform. Within CO+I, the Land Development team enables cloud growth by delivering and pre-positioning real estate, land rights, and infrastructure access required to support datacenter development at scale.

Easements to support the delivery of datacenter capacity are increasingly prevalent and complex. The Easements Program Manager leads end-to-end execution of easements and related real estate instruments (power, water, fiber, access, and other critical infrastructure) to keep development and build milestones on track across a fast-moving, multi-stakeholder portfolio. This role partners closely with Land Development Managers, Acquisition Managers, Engineering & Design, Utilities, Fiber, Construction, and Legal, as well as external parties (utilities, landowners, public agencies, and consultants). We are seeking someone with extensive program and transaction leadership experience, along with a demonstrated ability to drive results and build scalable, repeatable processes that enhance speed, quality, and risk management.

Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Drive cross-team delivery of power, water, fiber, access, and other easements required for datacenter development and infrastructure delivery.
• Lead negotiations and commercial terms with landowners, utilities, public agencies, and other counterparties to secure timely execution.
• Project-manage external land/ROW suppliers and consultants; set scope, priorities, timelines, and quality expectations, and remove blockers.
• Partner with internal and external legal counsel to streamline drafting, review, approvals, and signature workflows to meet critical deadlines.
• De-risk easement delivery by engaging early in site diligence (e.g., title/ALTA review inputs, constraints identification, and market/authority research) and coordinating mitigation plans.
• Own stakeholder communication and reporting: track milestones, risks, dependencies, and decisions; provide clear, executive-ready updates.
• Drive standardization and continuous improvement: create repeatable playbooks, templates, and automation/controls to improve predictability and reduce cycle time.

Qualifications

Required Qualification:

• Bachelors degree in Business Management, Real Estate, Project Management, or related field, AND 3+ years relevant experience. OR 5+ years equivalent experience.

Other Requirements:

Citizenship & Citizenship Verification:

• This position requires verification of citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local US government agency customers and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, classified as Microsoft Confidential the successful candidate's citizenship will be verified with a valid passport.

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:

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

Preferred Qualification:

• Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Civil Engineering, Business, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 5+ years of experience in infrastructure real estate delivery, right-of-way, and/or easement acquisition and negotiation across multiple utility/infrastructure types.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent transactions and stakeholders, prioritize effectively, and deliver results under time pressure.
• Strong negotiation, written and verbal communication, and executive-ready stakeholder management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft tools (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, SharePoint) and comfort tracking workflows and reporting milestones.
• Direct datacenter development, utility delivery, or large-scale linear infrastructure experience.
• Experience working in a large, matrixed organization and/or across multiple geographies.
• Familiarity with route engineering constraints for fiber, water, and power projects.
• Experience with project scheduling tools (e.g., Microsoft Project) and process automation/standardization.

#COICareers | #EPCCareers | #DCDCareers

Real Estate Portfolio Management IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $97,600 - $188,400 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $125,000 - $206,400 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.