Principal Strategic Operations Lead

The Cloud & AI organization accelerates Microsoft’s mission and bold ambitions to ensure that our company and industry is securing digital technology platforms, devices, and clouds in our customers’ heterogeneous environments, as well as ensuring the security of our own internal estate. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world. Microsoft is one of the largest enterprise service companies in the world.    AI-driven vulnerability discovery is producing findings at machine speed against operating structures built for human speed. Cyber Defense Operations (CDO’s) operating model needs to be aligned to this reality. AI is the connecting factor: rapid remediation must absorb machine-speed findings, evictions and escalations must compress response timelines driven by AI-accelerated threats, and CDO’s broader AI adoption needs intentional structure. This role owns that redesign.    We are looking for a Principal Strategic Operations Lead to join the team!   “Strategic Operations” here means designing how CDO operates, not running day-to-day operations. The role identifies where the operating model needs to more closely align with the emerging threat landscape, design the target-state architecture, and build the structures that close the gap. The work begins in the Incident Management portfolio and extends across CDO where cross-functional integration requires broader coordination. This role is expected to grow into a small strategic capability as charters scale.    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.     In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Identify emerging gaps in CDO’s operating posture, including those created by AI-accelerated threat timelines, and define strategic responses before they become crises. Define and drive CDO’s operating model evolution: what needs to change, what needs to be built, and how the organization should sequence the work. Advise CISO org leadership on operating model design, organizational integration, and AI adoption strategy based on cross-functional insights and external landscape analysis. Design and stand up operating structures for priority strategic projects, then decrease involvement as functional leads take ownership. Drive AI adoption strategy for CDO: use-case intake, prioritization frameworks, governance guardrails, and maturity measurement. Serve as the connective layer across functional leads, ensuring dependencies are visible and cross-cutting work streams stay synchronized. Surface early signals when a charter is stalling — missed deadlines, shifting goalposts, adoption gaps — and escalate with clarity and recommended action.

Required Qualifications: Bachelor's Degree AND 6+ years experience in 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.   Other Requirements: Candidates must be able 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