Senior Cloud & AI Specialist

Overview

Are you passionate about helping customers unlock business value through cloud, data, and AI transformation? Join Microsoft as a Senior Cloud & AI Specialist and help organizations turn their most strategic technology ambitions into measurable business outcomes. In this role, you will lead customer conversations across Microsoft Cloud and AI solutions, helping customers identify priorities, shape opportunities, and accelerate adoption across Azure infrastructure, data, analytics, application innovation, and AI. You will work closely with account teams, technical specialists, partners, and customer decision makers to create compelling value propositions, build qualified pipeline, and drive high-impact sales engagements. As a Senior Cloud & AI Specialist, you will help customers understand how Microsoft can support their transformation journey, from modernizing core platforms to building secure, scalable, AI-ready environments. This opportunity will allow you to deepen your cloud and AI business expertise, strengthen your strategic selling skills, and develop strong executive-level customer engagement capabilities.

This role requires regular in-person engagement with customers throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. The successful candidate is expected to meet face-to-face with customers and partners on a frequent basis to build relationships, drive business outcomes, and support customer success initiatives

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

Customer Engagement

Leads the sales strategy tailored to each customers priorities, showcasing Microsofts dedication to secure, AI-powered transformation and addressing their specific needs within the customer success plan, fostering long-term partnerships through AI-driven insights. Leads partner teams and resources, and fosters lasting relationships that activate co-selling strategies and drive partner attach to each opportunity through every stage in the sales lifecycle. Leads partner organization connections (i.e. EPS) that lead to enduring relationships, shared gains, partner health and alignment with execution plans to accelerate customer value realization at scale.

Assesses and qualifies sales opportunities following sales frameworks and guidelines, ensuring alignment with AI-enhanced sales methodologies and best practices. Leads strategy development for driving and closing complex, high-value opportunities. Partners across organizations (e.g., Account Team Unit [ATU], CSU, ISD, EPS) to drive deal orchestration and ensure seamless handoffs throughout the deal lifecycle. Advances best practices to gain customer trust, secure deals, and strategically mitigate risks to enhance sales activities across the market.

Sales and Pipeline Management

Strategically analyzes business and emerging opportunities to enhance the customer portfolio and drive customer innovation. Integrates technology (e.g., AI sales agents, automation, Power Platforms) to accelerate growth across assigned domain. Employs comprehensive analysis of propensity, renewal, consumption, and usage data to refine and execute sales strategy. Manages optimization of partners assigned to each account and/or opportunity to ensure seamless handoffs with other teams (e.g., Global Partner Solutions [GPS], Customer Success Unit [CSU], Industry Solutions Delivery [ISD], Partner) throughout the deal lifecycle.

Leads sales pipeline reviews with internal senior stakeholders to drive forecasting accuracy and meeting sales targets, ensuring the use of AI-powered analytics and forecasting tools to enhance precision. Coaches others on and maintains sales and/or consumption pipeline hygiene to enable tracking to achieve assigned sales metrics using all available tools, resources, and processes Coaches others on and leads to achieve usage and/or consumption pipeline hygiene targets to actively monitor adoption trends, identify opportunities for intervention, enabling customers to realize the value of solutions purchased, drive expansion, and ensure healthier, more predictable renewals.

Sales Strategy

Leads discussions with senior stakeholders and decision makers for high-value customers to identify, qualify, and accelerate sales opportunities. Serves as a key point of contact for, and partners with internal senior stakeholders within and across organizations to strategically drive customer success. Proactively engages with account teams to align the customers artificial intelligence (AI) transformation vision with their business priorities and success objectives. Ensures the integration of security principles in customer interactions, opportunity, and pursuits to maintain trust and compliance standards.

Leads collaborations with others on whitespace analysis and leverages expertise to identify and capitalize on business opportunities and market gaps within the assigned market domain, utilizing AI-driven market intelligence tools to assess trends and insights. Integrates and translates market intelligence, trends, and insights to inform team strategy. Refines and evolves the established market analysis approach to ensure proactive alignment with strategic directives and emerging market trends.

Synthesizes evaluation of the solution area(s) and market to strategically align sales plays with complex customer priorities and outcomes, incorporating AI-driven predictive analytics to forecast future market needs. Drives cross-functional collaboration to propose and prioritize solutions and strategies that drive customer business objectives. Proactively identifies and addresses gaps, setting the direction for market engagement and sales execution.

Leads partnerships with others cross-organizationally and guides the development of solutions to enable AI- and cloud-driven transformations for existing and new customers within the region, emphasizing the integration of cutting-edge AI technologies and cloud services. Crafts and refines strategies and engages with customers to distinguish Microsoft's offerings in the competitive landscape. Acts as a subject matter expert and trusted advisor for customers and drives the adoption of technologies and solutions that align and advance their strategic goals and drive digital transformation.

Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, Information Security, or related field AND 6+ years experience in technology-related sales or account management OR equivalent experience.

Other Requirements

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Candidates must have authorization to work in the United States that does not now or in the future require employer sponsorship.

Additional or preferred qualifications

Masters Degree in Business Administration (i.e., MBA), Information Technology, Information Security, or related field AND 8+ years experience in technology-related sales or account management OR Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, Information Security, or related field AND 12+ years experience in technology-related sales or account management OR equivalent experience.

6+ years solution or services sales experience.

Solution Area Specialists IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $133,000 - $222,700 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 $170,300 - $239,800 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.