Principal Technical Program Manager

The Office of the CTO (OCTO) for Microsoft is chartered with understanding, shaping, and accelerating technologies and their impact across Microsoft, industry, and society. OCTO leads investments in emerging technical bets, provides technical insights, and drives high-priority company-wide AI initiatives, while partnering with our engineering, field, and strategy teams. As part of this, OCTO is responsible for Microsoft’s technical strategy for the use of OpenAI technology across Microsoft. OCTO operates as a high‑leverage organization – partnering deeply across engineering, product, research, and leadership to influence technical direction, execution integrity, and long‑term strategy. 

We are seeking a Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead Simultaneous Shipping (SimShip) for a strategic Microsoft AI partnership. In this role, you will orchestrate complex global releases across engineering, product, compliance, and partner teams to deliver high-quality experiences across markets, languages, and regulatory environments. This work moves at the pace of AI and requires strong judgment, coordination, and execution. 

This is a high-visibility role at the intersection of engineering execution and business impact. You will operate in an environment of significant scale and ambiguity, bringing clarity, alignment, and operational excellence to deliver consistently and responsibly for customers worldwide. You will also help ensure these AI releases meet Microsofts Responsible AI expectations and governance requirements. 

You will work closely with a key external partner and internal Microsoft stakeholders across multiple organizations to drive synchronized delivery, readiness, and customer success. Success in this role requires the ability to influence across organizational boundaries, adapt quickly to evolving AI requirements, and help Microsoft deliver with speed and quality. We are looking for candidates who demonstrate regular use of AI tools and workflows to accelerate execution and improve operational effectiveness. 

Skills: 

• Conflict Resolution 
• Stakeholder Management 
• Agility 
• Strategic Thinking 
• Technical Domain Knowledge and Skills 
• Program Management 

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, and we’re dedicated to this mission across every aspect of our company. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. Join us and help shape the future of the world. 

Responsibilities

Program Leadership & Delivery 

• Lead end-to-end SimShip program execution, ensuring alignment across global release timelines, milestones, and deliverables 
• Drive clarity in ambiguous, fast-evolving environments; create structured plans to ensure predictable delivery 
• Establish and manage the release rhythm of business (ROB), including ship readiness reviews, checkpoints, and executive reporting 

Cross-Company and Partner Coordination 

• Partner with engineering, product, localization, compliance, and operations teams across Microsoft and with a key strategic partner 
• Drive alignment across organizational boundaries to deliver synchronized releases at global scale 
• Manage dependencies across multiple systems, services, and teams to ensure coordinated delivery 

Global Release Readiness (SimShip) 

• Own readiness across all dimensions of SimShip, including:  
  • Localization and global availability
  • Regulatory and compliance readiness
  • Service health, reliability, and performance 
• Identify and proactively mitigate risks that could impact release timelines or quality 

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement 

• Define and track key operations metrics (e.g., release readiness, defect trends, coverage, quality benchmarks) 
• Drive continuous improvements to release processes, tooling, and cross-team collaboration 
• Implement scalable mechanisms to support future global releases 

Stakeholder Communication & Influence 

• Communicate clearly and effectively with stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership 
• Influence decision-making through data-driven insights and structured recommendations 
• Provide transparent, actionable updates on program status, risks, and mitigations 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications  

• Bachelors Degree AND 6+ years experience in engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR equivalent experience. 

Other Requirements: 

• 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 Qualifications 

• Bachelors Degree AND 12+ years experience engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR equivalent experience. 
• 3+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects. 
• 1+ year(s) of experience reading and/or writing code (e.g., sample documentation, product demos). 
• Experience building, shipping, or operating AI services or products, including SimShip and global release execution across engineering, compliance, localization, and operational readiness functions.  
• Strong technical foundation with the ability to engage in architectural and system-level discussions and drive execution across complex technical environments.  
• Proven ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-paced environments while driving clarity, prioritization, and alignment across diverse stakeholders.  
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and executive influence skills, with the ability to lead through influence across internal and external partner teams. 

Technical Program Management IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 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 $188,000 - $304,200 per year.