Microsoft

Principal Technical Program Manager

Microsoft$142K — $274K *
Enterprise Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree with 6+ years experience in engineering or program management
  • Experience managing cross-functional and cross-team projects
  • Understanding of AI services and global release processes
  • Technical skills to engage in system discussions
  • Proven ability to work effectively in fast-paced and ambiguous environments
  • Outstanding communication and stakeholder management abilities

Responsibilities

  • Lead global SimShip program execution and alignment across teams
  • Create structured plans for clear delivery in ambiguous environments
  • Establish release rhythm and manage readiness checkpoints
  • Foster partnerships with engineering and compliance teams for synchronized delivery
  • Identify and mitigate risks impacting release timelines
  • Track key metrics for operations and implement continuous improvements
  • Communicate program status and influence decision-making through insights

Benefits

  • Access to Microsoft resources for professional development
  • Support for work-life balance initiatives
  • Opportunities for advanced AI projects and collaboration
  • Inclusive workplace culture emphasizing diversity
  • Comprehensive health and wellness programs
Full Job Description
Overview

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 Microsoft's 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

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
  • Bachelor's 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
  • Bachelor's 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.

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.

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
Net Income
$51.3 billion
Founded
1975
5 Year Trend
+15.5%
Revenue
$153.2 billion
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