Microsoft

Launch Manager

Microsoft • $110K — $130K *
Redmond, WA 98052In-Person
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field with 4+ years in operations or project management, or equivalent experience.
  • 5 years of project management experience focused on operations program management.
  • Strong history of leading complex, cross-functional programs in a fast-paced environment.
  • Proficient in stakeholder management, with the ability to influence across all organizational levels.
  • Exceptional communication and executive engagement skills.

Responsibilities

  • Lead end-to-end launch planning and execution for multiple initiatives.
  • Develop launch plans, timelines, and success criteria to guide projects.
  • Coordinate with various teams to define requirements and ensure effective execution.
  • Align activities across multiple departments, including engineering and marketing.
  • Identify and mitigate risks during the launch process, ensuring effective resolution.

Benefits

  • Opportunities for continuous professional development and growth.
  • A collaborative and innovative workplace culture.
  • Engagement in high-impact projects that align with business objectives.
  • Access to emerging technologies and AI tools for improved efficiency.
  • Participation in post-launch reviews to promote operational excellence.
Full Job Description
Position Description:

The Planning & Launch Team is seeking a highly motivated and strategic Launch Manager to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives from concept through market execution. This role is responsible for driving end-to-end launch readiness, ensuring alignment across stakeholders, managing operational risks, and delivering successful outcomes that support Microsoft's business objectives and long-term strategy.

The ideal candidate is an experienced program leader who combines strong operational discipline with a growth mindset and passion for innovation. They are comfortable navigating ambiguity, driving large-scale cross-functional initiatives, and leveraging AI and data-driven insights to transform how work gets done. This individual continuously seeks opportunities to improve processes, increase efficiency, and deliver greater business impact through operational excellence, automation, and technological advancement.

Responsibilities

  • Lead end-to-end launch planning, execution, and governance across multiple products, services, programs, or business initiatives.
  • Develop and maintain comprehensive launch plans, readiness frameworks, timelines, milestones, and success criteria.
  • Partner with cross-functional teams to assess business impacts, define launch requirements, and coordinate execution activities.
  • Drive alignment across engineering, product management, marketing, sales, operations, finance, compliance, supply chain, and support organizations.
  • Identify, assess, and mitigate launch risks, dependencies, blockers, and operational challenges while proactively driving resolution plans.
  • Facilitate executive reviews, stakeholder discussions, and decision-making forums to ensure alignment and accountability.
  • Monitor critical paths, launch readiness indicators, and key performance metrics to ensure successful delivery against commitments.
  • Translate strategic business objectives into actionable execution plans that support organizational priorities and customer outcomes.
  • Establish clear communication channels and provide regular status updates, executive summaries, and launch health reporting.
  • Promote operational excellence through continuous process improvement, launch playbook development, and implementation of best practices.
  • Support portfolio planning, intake assessments, prioritization, and resource alignment to maximize business impact.
  • Drive post-launch reviews, capture lessons learned, and implement improvements to strengthen future launch execution.
  • Drive a culture of continuous improvement by identifying process gaps, reducing operational complexity, and implementing scalable solutions that improve launch execution and business outcomes.
  • Leverage AI, automation, and emerging technologies to increase efficiency, enhance decision-making, improve insights, and streamline launch management processes.
  • Partner with stakeholders to identify opportunities for digital transformation and operational innovation across launch planning, readiness, reporting, and governance.
  • Develop and maintain launch frameworks, knowledge bases, playbooks, and best practices that promote consistency, repeatability, and organizational learning.
  • Utilize data analytics, AI-powered tools, and business intelligence solutions to generate actionable insights, measure launch effectiveness, and inform strategic decisions.
  • Champion experimentation and adoption of new tools, processes, and methodologies that accelerate business value and improve customer and partner experiences.
  • Lead post-launch reviews and retrospectives, using lessons learned and performance data to drive continuous process optimization and future readiness improvements.


Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Operations, Business Supply Chain, Finance, Business Management, Accounting, Human Resources (HR), Organizational Development or related field AND 4+ years experience in operations or process design or program/project management OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications
  • 5 years of Project Management experience with a focus on Operations program management.
  • Proven experience leading complex cross-functional programs, product launches, or business initiatives in a fast-paced environment.
  • Demonstrated project, program, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at all organizational levels.
  • Experience managing competing priorities, ambiguity, risks, and dependencies across multiple workstreams.
  • Exceptional communication, presentation, facilitation, and executive engagement skills.
  • Ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations, action plans, and decision-ready materials.
  • Demonstrated ability to drive results through collaboration, accountability, and operational rigor.
  • Passion for delivering exceptional customers and business outcomes.
  • Experience in a multinational environment.
  • Operations experience.
  • Initiative and drive for continuous improvement and delivery against objectives.
  • Ability to work under and meet continual deadline constraints.
  • Negotiation skills with the ability to impact and influence at a leadership level.
  • Ability to manage short, medium, and long-term planning horizons concurrently.
  • Understanding of financial principles.
  • Experience engaging with Finance Stakeholders.
  • MBA is a plus.

We are looking for a strategic leader who can successfully orchestrate complex launches while driving operational excellence, continuous improvement, and AI-enabled transformation. If you are passionate about innovation, thrive in dynamic environments, and have a proven ability to deliver business results through collaboration, process optimization, and technology, we encourage you to apply.

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

About Microsoft

Microsoft is an American multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services. Microsoft’s devices and consumer (D&C) licensing segment licenses the Windows operating system and related software, Microsoft Office for consumers, and the Windows Phone operating system. The company’s computing and gaming hardware segment provides Xbox gaming and entertainment consoles and accessories, second-party and third-party video games, and Xbox Live subscriptions; surface devices and accessories; and Microsoft PC accessories. Its phone hardware segment offers Lumia smartphones and other non-Lumia phones. Its D&C segment provides Windows Store, Xbox Live transactions, and Windows phone store; search advertising; display advertising; Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal; first-party video games; and other consumer products and services as well as operating retail stores. Microsoft’s commercial licensing segments license server products, including Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Windows Embedded; Windows operating system; Microsoft Office for business, including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, and related CALs; Microsoft Dynamics business solutions; and Skype. Its commercial segment offers enterprise services, including premier support services and Microsoft consulting services; commercial cloud comprising Office 365 Commercial, other Microsoft Office online offerings, Dynamics CRM Online, and Microsoft Azure; and other commercial products and online services. The company markets and distributes its products through original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and resellers, as well as online.

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Learn more about Microsoft
Size
181,000 employees
Market Cap
$1,762.4 billion
Industry
Enterprise Technology
Net Income
$51.3 billion
Founded
1975
5 Year Trend
+15.5%
Revenue
$153.2 billion
NASDAQ
MSFT
* Ladders Estimates

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