Principal Program Manager

Overview

The Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO+I) team builds and operates one of the world's largest datacenter fleets, providing secure, compliant, cost-efficient, and highly available global infrastructure for Microsoft's customers. We focus on smart growth, high efficiency, and a trusted experience for partners and customers worldwide.

The Cloud & Infrastructure Acquisition team within CO+I is seeking an experienced Principal Program Manager to lead complex changes to our global infrastructure. The successful candidate will be a self-starter thriving in ambiguity, with strong attention to detail, capable of working in a fast-paced environment, and eager to shape the overall business. You will lead multiple simultaneous large-scale initiatives, balancing technical leadership with strong business judgment.

Responsibilities of a Principal Program Manager

• Lead strategic initiatives within the Cloud & Infrastructure Acquisition (CIA) team using a results-oriented, metrics-driven programmatic approach.
• Develop and maintain a long-term program roadmap, actively mitigating risks like technology shifts, market constraints, and cost pressures.
• Guide teams in developing problem statements, frameworks, and methodologies to address crucial business, customer, or market opportunities.
• Orchestrate efforts to define and implement recommended solutions on large cross-functional projects with internal teams and external partners.
• Hold teams accountable for desired outcomes throughout the program lifecycle, including quality, compliance, security, safety, sustainability, and time-to-market.
• Advance CIA's PM capability by evaluating and improving program management practices and encouraging best practices across the organization.
• Drive simplification and automation to evolve processes, services, and solutions, increasing agility and efficiencies while lowering costs.
• Develop and coach a world-class program management team to successfully deliver complex, impactful, and visible infrastructure projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or a related field AND significant experience in program management, process management, or process improvement OR equivalent experience.
• Extensive experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects.
• Strong command of common process improvement methodologies (Lean, Six-Sigma, DMAIC).
• High proficiency in verbal and written communication, capable of interacting with technical and business subject matter experts across multiple organizational levels.
• Familiarity with change management methodologies and ability to drive solution adoption across the organization.
• Creative problem-solving and analytical skills to drive keen insights and understand root causes, combined with a “sense of urgency” to develop solutions.
• Master's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or a related field.

Background Check Requirements

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. This includes passing the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Key skills/competency

• Program Management
• Strategic Planning
• Infrastructure Acquisition
• Cross-functional Leadership
• Risk Mitigation
• Process Improvement (Lean, Six-Sigma, DMAIC)
• Change Management
• Problem Solving
• Stakeholder Management
• Global Datacenter Operations