Planning Program Lead, Edge

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

4d•$116,900 - $303,600•Hybrid

About The Position

Microsoft AI Experiences (AIX) builds the end-user AI experience portfolio at Microsoft, spanning Copilot, Search, Browser, Content, Commerce, and Monetization. The Browser organization is Microsoft Edge, comprising approximately 380 engineers, product managers, and designers focused on Core, Web Platform, Growth, Security, and Mobile. They prioritize browser quality, web platform, and security, with investments in growth, mobile, and agentic capabilities. Edge operates on two distinct schedules: the 12-week AI Experiences planning Cycle (with meetups, milestones, and sprints) and the Chromium release train (a stable release approximately every four weeks). This role is crucial for aligning these cadences, ensuring leadership has an accurate view of both, and managing the details of deliverables, meetings, data, and follow-ups. The Planning Program Lead will maintain deliverables, act as a liaison between engineering and leadership, ensure planning systems reflect reality, and manage reviews, readiness, and executive status meetings. This role requires a blend of operational, analytical, and change management skills to ensure the planning program runs smoothly, identify process improvements, and leverage AI to enhance workflows. Microsoft fosters a growth mindset culture, emphasizing responsible innovation and shared progress.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Engineering, or a related field AND 6+ years of experience in program management, program operations, or business operations in a cross-functional software engineering environment. OR 7+ years of equivalent experience.
Demonstrated AI fluency: a working grasp of core concepts, terminology, and practical applications, with proven ability to apply AI to improve program workflows and team productivity.
Demonstrated experience running recurring meetings or reviews end to end: agenda, facilitation, decisions, documentation, and follow-up.
Experience owning data quality in a planning, resourcing, or portfolio tool such as Atlas, Azure DevOps, Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, or Jira, and driving adoption of standardized processes and data elements for efficiency at scale.
Familiarity with browser, client, or platform release cycles, including release trains, channel-based delivery, release readiness reviews, and dependency management.
Experience with knowledge management systems, bug tracking, and program reporting tools.
Experience in change management, including stakeholder analysis, readiness assessment, and adoption measurement, with a track record of driving sustainable behavioral change at scale.
Working knowledge of org design or team design and the ability to analyze whether teams are staffed and structured to succeed, including comfort with resourcing and allocation data and spotting gaps, conflicts, and structural risks.
Experience acting as a liaison between execution teams and senior leadership in a fast-moving organization, with the ability to hold senior stakeholders accountable to commitments.
Exceptional written and verbal communication, able to distill complexity for any audience, and skilled at influencing without authority to build trust-based relationships across engineering, product, and quality organizations.
Strong consultative problem-solver who brings structure to ambiguity, anticipates leadership and organizational needs, and course-corrects with confidence and discretion.
Strong technical aptitude and self-directed learning, with a track record of building and sustaining communities in large organizations through programs, events, and feedback loops that drive shared hands-on learning.
Track record of driving process improvement and troubleshooting operational breakdowns, with a strong bias for action and a habit of getting ahead of problems before they become blockers.
High degree of professionalism, operating autonomously and handling confidential information with integrity.
Working proficiency with Atlas, Azure DevOps, Microsoft Loop and SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, Power BI, and AI productivity tools such as Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting a Program Management Office or a comparable central planning, resourcing, or delivery-excellence function.
PMP certification a plus.

Responsibilities

Maintain the planning program and its deliverables, including planning artifacts, trackers, and status rollups.
Serve as the primary liaison between engineering DRIs and the Edge leadership team.
Keep the Edge planning calendar and Cycle checkpoints coordinated with the AIX Program Management Office.
Maintain accurate feature release calendars and milestone schedules, synchronizing the 12-week Cycle and the Chromium release train.
Own reviews, previews, and release rhythm end to end, including setting up and running workstream reviews, previews, team-level sessions, and demos.
Define and standardize how Edge runs feature demos, release readiness reviews, and executive status meetings.
Draft and circulate agendas, develop or curate session content, keep discussions on time and on topic, and drive toward clear decisions.
Ensure notes, decisions, and action items are captured and distributed with owners and deadlines.
Track progress on commitments and chase them to closure.
Build and maintain feature and bug reporting cadences to track release quality and convergence progress.
Drive quality inputs into Atlas and Azure DevOps, ensuring data accuracy and coherence.
Run staffing entry as a Cycle task, ensuring timely input and updates from teams.
Safeguard data quality across workstream ownership, feature crew and mission assignments, DRI assignments, mission sheets, milestones, and dependencies.
Analyze resourcing and team design, evaluating whether workstreams and feature crews are staffed and structured to deliver their missions.
Surface staffing gaps, over- and under-allocation, and structural risks, partnering with DRIs and leadership on resolutions.
Provide clear, data-grounded analysis to aid leadership in resourcing and org-design decisions.
Own program management standards, tooling, and adoption, including core process documentation, templates, and integrated tooling.
Drive adoption of standards through communication, training, and engagement.
Run a communication plan to keep the organization updated on process and tooling changes, best practices, milestones, and program priorities.
Serve as a trusted program management partner to engineering, product, design, and web platform teams.
Improve the day-to-day mechanics of the planning program, streamlining reviews, follow-ups, and data collection.
Apply AI-powered tools and workflows to improve planning, documentation, and delivery.
Lead structured change management for PMO-driven initiatives, assessing readiness, identifying risks, designing interventions, and measuring impact.
Troubleshoot operational breakdowns, diagnose root causes, and implement durable fixes.