Principal Design Architect

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

Do you want to shape how hundreds of millions of people connect, create, and collaborate every day? The Collaboration Experience Design (CxD) studio at Microsoft crafts the experiences that bring Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Planner, and Engage together, empowering people and organizations to achieve more through intelligent, inclusive, and integrated collaboration. We’re looking for a Principal Design Architect to help shape the future of AI-powered collaboration across Microsoft 365. This is a unique opportunity to define cross-product frameworks and interaction models that connect people, content, and intelligent agents across our ecosystem. As a Principal Design Architect, you’ll lead early explorations and help define frameworks that guide the next generation of connected, intelligent experiences. You’ll influence strategic bets, partner across design, product, and engineering, and ensure that what we create is visionary, cohesive, and grounded in customer needs. The Collaboration Experience Design (CxD) studio designs Microsoft’s collaboration agents and platform, the tools people rely on to work together across organizations and geographies. Our vision is to empower every person and organization to achieve more, with intelligent, integrated, and inclusive collaboration solutions. We: Craft rich and inviting experiences that connect the world. Lead the way in modern, AI-driven design. Partner deeply across Microsoft 365 to create coherence and simplicity. Keep the customer at the center of everything we do. Design for all people, across all walks of life and abilities. If you’re inspired by designing systems that scale across products and defining how AI transforms collaboration, you’ll feel right at home in CxD. Shape the next generation of intelligent collaboration experiences used by hundreds of millions worldwide. Work with world-class designers, researchers, engineers, and AI experts who share your passion for design systems and innovation. Join a studio that values craft, partnership, customer obsession, and inclusivity. Thrive in a hybrid work culture that encourages creativity, curiosity, and personal growth. At Microsoft, we believe that when people can collaborate effortlessly and inclusively, they can achieve anything together. Join us, and help design the future of work. 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.

Requirements

• Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 6+ years experience working in product or service design OR Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in product or service design OR equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

• Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in product or service design OR Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 12+ years experience working in product or service design OR equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems).
• 12+ years of experience in UX, systems design, or cross-platform experience architecture.
• Proven ability to drive design coherence across multiple product surfaces (web, mobile, desktop, embedded).
• Experience designing for AI, agents, or adaptive user experiences.
• Track record of mentoring design talent and building design maturity at scale.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, evolving spaces where frameworks are still being defined.
• Deep experience defining frameworks, interaction models, or design systems that unify complex product ecosystems.
• Exceptional ability to translate user needs, technology, and business goals into coherent, scalable design strategies.
• Solid storytelling and facilitation skills, with experience influencing executive audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic design explorations that define the future of AI, intelligent agents, and cross-product collaboration within Microsoft 365.
• Develop experience frameworks, patterns, and principles that create coherence across Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Planner, and Engage.
• Partner closely with engineering architects, product leaders, and research teams to align early investments and long-term product direction.
• Ground your work in customer insights and data, ensuring design directions solve real-world problems and create measurable impact.
• Collaborate across Microsoft Design, the Fluent Design System, and the AI design community to evolve our model-forward design language.
• Mentor, coach, and inspire designers across CxD, scaling system-level thinking and design maturity throughout the organization.
• Influence senior leaders and partners through compelling storytelling, clarity, and vision.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees