Location Designation: Hybrid - 3 days per quarter
Role OverviewNew York Life is seeking a Senior M365 Modern Workplace Engineer to serve as a hands-on technical authority responsible for the design, engineering, migration, and operational excellence of the enterprise's Microsoft 365 platform and its core messaging and collaboration services.
This is an individual-contributor role that combines expert-level engineering ownership, solution design, and day-to-day execution with technical leadership and mentoring of engineers and vendor partners. The position requires deep subject-matter expertise in Exchange, Teams, and the broader M365 ecosystem, with additional responsibilities supporting SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Purview, and Power Platform initiatives as needed.
A key dimension of this role is identifying and championing opportunities to leverage AI and intelligent automation-including Microsoft Copilot, M365 telemetry, and platform analytics-to optimize operations, improve service quality, and drive continuous improvement across the modern workplace environment.
You will partner with security, identity, infrastructure, compliance, operations, and business stakeholders to deliver modern workplace solutions that are secure, reliable, and user-centric. The ideal candidate thrives in a regulated environment, leads through expertise and influence, and brings a forward-thinking mindset toward applying AI to everyday platform operations.
What You'll Do:Microsoft 365 Platform - SME & Platform Ownership- Serve as the enterprise subject-matter expert for Microsoft 365, with primary ownership of Exchange Online, Exchange Hybrid, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco IronPort
- Own tenant-level configuration, lifecycle management, and platform standards across the M365 ecosystem
- Provide hands-on design, configuration, and troubleshooting of enterprise M365 services
- Act as the final technical escalation point for complex, high-impact platform issues
- Monitor Microsoft 365 Service Health, Message Center updates, and roadmap changes to proactively manage platform evolution and communicate impacts to stakeholders
Exchange Online & Hybrid Messaging- Own mail flow architecture, hybrid configurations, connectors, transport rules, security controls, and compliance features across the enterprise messaging environment
- Manage Exchange Online Protection (EOP), anti-spam/anti-phish policies, and Cisco IronPort integration for mail hygiene
- Administer recipient management, shared mailboxes, distribution lists, public folders, and resource scheduling
- Troubleshoot complex mail flow, delivery, and routing issues across hybrid and cloud environments
Mailbox & OneDrive Migrations- Lead and execute large-scale mailbox migrations including on-premises Exchange to Exchange Online, cross-tenant, and hybrid migration scenarios
- Lead and execute OneDrive migrations including user data migrations, tenant-to-tenant transitions, and identity/access/data-integrity considerations
- Design migration strategies that minimize risk, downtime, and end-user disruption
- Own post-migration stabilization, validation, optimization, and legacy platform decommissioning
Microsoft Teams - Administration & Governance- Manage the enterprise Teams environment including policies for messaging, meetings, calling, guest access, and external federation
- Administer Teams apps, permission policies, and third-party integrations across the organization
- Configure and manage Teams voice services including calling plans, auto-attendants, call queues, and Direct Routing or Operator Connect where applicable
- Define and enforce Teams governance standards including team creation policies, naming conventions, lifecycle management, and archival processes
- Monitor Teams service quality using Call Quality Dashboard (CQD) and troubleshoot audio, video, and connectivity issues
AI Integration & Operational Optimization- Continuously evaluate how AI capabilities-including Microsoft Copilot, AI Builder, and emerging M365 AI features-can be applied to improve platform operations, reduce manual effort, and enhance service quality
- Leverage M365 telemetry, usage analytics, and AI-powered insights to proactively identify platform issues, optimize configurations, and recommend service improvements before problems surface
- Identify and propose AI-driven automation opportunities across Exchange, Teams, and other owned M365 workloads to streamline repetitive tasks such as incident triage, ticket classification, and configuration drift detection
- Collaborate with the Copilot engineering team to provide operational readiness input, validate platform prerequisites, and ensure tenant configurations support successful AI feature adoption
- Stay current with Microsoft's evolving AI roadmap across M365 and translate relevant innovations into practical recommendations for the enterprise environment
- Build and maintain AI-enhanced dashboards and reporting that surface actionable insights on platform health, adoption trends, and optimization opportunities for leadership
- Serve as a thought leader within the team on how AI and intelligent automation can transform day-to-day M365 operations and the modern workplace experience
Microsoft Copilot - Governance & Platform Readiness- Support Copilot readiness by ensuring tenant configurations, data hygiene, sensitivity labeling, and permissions are optimized for AI feature adoption
- Participate in Copilot pilots to evaluate new features from an operational perspective, providing feedback on platform impact and enterprise readiness
- Translate Copilot usage telemetry and licensing data into operational insights that inform governance decisions and adoption strategy
SharePoint Online & OneDrive for Business (Support Role)- Assist the SharePoint team with deployment, configuration, and troubleshooting of SharePoint Online sites, site collections, and hub sites as needed
- Support content hygiene, retention labeling, and site lifecycle activities that directly affect Copilot readiness and M365 compliance posture
- Help troubleshoot OneDrive for Business sync issues, sharing permission conflicts, and Known Folder Move (KFM) deployment problems
- Collaborate with SharePoint administrators on information architecture and governance decisions that intersect with Exchange, Teams, or Purview workloads
- Provide escalation support for cross-platform issues that span SharePoint, Teams, and other M365 services
Microsoft Intune & Endpoint Management (Support Role)- Assist the endpoint management team with deploying device enrollment profiles, compliance policies, and configuration profiles through Microsoft Intune as needed
- Support troubleshooting of conditional access failures, device compliance issues, and app protection policy conflicts in coordination with identity and endpoint teams
- Help validate Windows Autopilot deployments, Windows Update for Business ring configurations, and endpoint patching outcomes
- Provide cross-functional support for mobile application management (MAM) and mobile device management (MDM) issues that affect M365 service delivery
Microsoft Purview - Compliance & Data Protection (Support Role)- Assist the compliance and security teams with deploying and configuring Microsoft Purview capabilities including sensitivity labeling, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, and information barriers
- Support troubleshooting of eDiscovery, content search, and legal hold workflows when issues intersect with Exchange, Teams, or other owned M365 workloads
- Help configure and validate Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) workflows including content scanning, label recommendations, and governance automation
- Collaborate with security and compliance teams to test and refine data classification standards as they are applied across M365 workloads
Power Platform - Governance & Administration (Support Role)- Assist the Power Platform team with deploying and troubleshooting Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents solutions as needed
- Support environment governance activities including data loss prevention (DLP) policy configuration and connector management in coordination with the platform owners
- Help monitor Power Platform licensing, AI Builder credit consumption, and the transition to the Copilot Credit model
- Provide cross-functional support for Power Automate and agent flow issues that affect Exchange, Teams, or other M365 services
Solution Delivery & Automation- Personally design and deliver complex initiatives from concept through production, building target-state architectures and converting them into executable technical plans
- Implement automation using PowerShell, Microsoft Graph, and ServiceNow integrations to reduce manual effort and improve reliability
- Build and maintain usage-analytics dashboards and reporting using Power BI and M365 admin center telemetry
- Ensure solutions meet security, compliance, resiliency, and audit requirements
Team Leadership (Non-Managerial)- Provide technical leadership and direction to engineers and vendor teams through architecture ownership, design reviews, and hands-on mentoring
- Set technical guardrails, standards, and best practices across all M365 workloads
- Lead teams during incidents, root cause analysis, and post-incident improvements
- Ensure knowledge transfer between engineering and operations staff and identify opportunities to enhance overall service delivery
- Support onboarding and skill development of team members through direct coaching
Collaboration & Communication- Partner closely with security, identity, infrastructure, compliance, and application teams to deliver integrated solutions
- Translate business needs into practical, technically sound solutions and clearly communicate options, risks, and trade-offs to stakeholders
- Serve as the technical liaison with Microsoft FastTrack, Unified Support, and product engineering teams
- Deliver actionable insights to leadership on adoption trends, platform ROI, and optimization opportunities
What You'll Bring:- 15+ years of hands-on enterprise IT experience with deep focus on messaging, collaboration, and cloud platforms
- Proven experience owning critical enterprise M365 platforms end-to-end-not just overseeing them
- Demonstrated success delivering large-scale mailbox and OneDrive migrations in complex, regulated environments
- Extensive experience administering Exchange Online and Microsoft Teams in an enterprise setting
- Working familiarity with SharePoint Online, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Purview, and Power Platform sufficient to support deployment and troubleshooting activities
- Experience in regulated or risk-sensitive environments (financial services strongly preferred)
- Direct experience working with Microsoft FastTrack, Unified Support, or product engineering teams
Technical Expertise- Expert-level knowledge of Microsoft 365 administration, Exchange Online/Hybrid, and Microsoft Teams
- Strong experience with mail flow, connectors, hybrid identity, security, encryption, retention, DLP, and auditing
- Proficiency with PowerShell, Microsoft Graph, and automation frameworks
- Familiarity with Entra ID (Azure AD), conditional access, and identity integration as it relates to M365 services
- Working knowledge of SharePoint Online administration and OneDrive for Business troubleshooting
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Intune device management, compliance policies, and conditional access concepts
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Purview, sensitivity labeling, eDiscovery, and Data Security Posture Management (DSPM)
- Working knowledge of Power Platform governance including environment management, DLP policies, and licensing
- Ability to design and operate secure, highly available, enterprise-scale platforms
- Familiarity with ITIL processes and service management platforms (ServiceNow preferred)
AI & Optimization Mindset- Demonstrated interest in applying AI and intelligent automation to improve IT operations and platform management
- Familiarity with Microsoft Copilot capabilities, tenant readiness requirements, and AI governance concepts within the M365 ecosystem
- Ability to analyze M365 telemetry and usage data to identify optimization opportunities and translate findings into actionable recommendations
- Awareness of Microsoft's evolving AI roadmap across M365, including Copilot extensibility, AI Builder, and Copilot Studio
Leadership & Communication- Operates as a true individual contributor and technical authority; leads through expertise and influence, not hierarchy
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to produce technical documentation, SOPs, and architecture diagrams
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate technical details for both technical and non-technical audiences
- Comfort acting as the senior voice on M365 platform topics in cross-functional forums and executive briefings
Preferred Qualifications- Microsoft certifications in M365, Exchange, or Security (e.g., MS-600, MS-700, MS-102, SC-400, SC-300)
- Experience evaluating or piloting Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, or AI Builder in an enterprise environment
- Cloud or IT service management certifications
- Experience managing Microsoft 365 in multi-tenant or tenant-to-tenant consolidation scenarios
- Hands-on experience building AI-enhanced dashboards, automated workflows, or intelligent monitoring solutions
- Experience in regulated industries such as financial services, insurance, or healthcare
- Background in DevOps practices or infrastructure-as-co
