Principal Security Specialist

Microsoft•San Diego, CA

4d•$62 - $115

About The Position

We are seeking a high-impact sales and technical individual with executive presence to lead Security strategy for the Sales Unit’s most strategic, complex, and high-risk customers. This role involves shaping cybersecurity thought leadership, building resilient security foundations for AI and digital transformation, and driving executive engagement that delivers measurable business and risk outcomes. The ideal candidate is adept at deep cybersecurity architecture and controls, translating technology into business risk and outcomes, leading C-level “CISO room” conversations, and winning complex pursuits while building credibility with even the most skeptical stakeholders. In the Digital Solution Specialist team, you will thrive in dynamic, sometimes ambiguous environments — learning fast, collaborating across teams, rebuilding trust with customers, and leading decisive defensive positioning when competitors threaten established Microsoft relationships. As a field multiplier and coach, you will transfer sales plays, talk tracks, and judgment that elevate peers’ capability and confidence, accelerating deals and strengthening customer trust. 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

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, or related field AND 7+ years of technology-related sales or account management experience OR 9+ years of technology-related sales or account management experience.
6+ years of solution or services sales experience

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree in Business Administration (e.g., MBA), Information Technology, or related field AND 8+ years of technology-related sales or account management experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, or related field AND 10+ years of technology-related sales or account management experience OR 11+ years of technology-related sales or account management experience.
Deep knowledge of Microsoft Security including Entra, Defender, Purview, Sentinel, and Agent365.
Broader foundation of industry technologies.
Executive presence.
Deep cybersecurity architecture and controls expertise.
Ability to translate technology into business risk and outcomes.
Experience leading C-level “CISO room” conversations.
Experience winning complex pursuits.
Ability to build credibility with skeptical stakeholders.
Experience in dynamic, sometimes ambiguous environments.
Ability to learn fast and collaborate across teams.
Experience rebuilding trust with customers.
Experience leading decisive defensive positioning when competitors threaten established Microsoft relationships.
Experience as a field multiplier and coach.
Experience transferring sales plays, talk tracks, and judgment.
Experience accelerating deals and strengthening customer trust.

Responsibilities

Demonstrate executive presence and deep cybersecurity expertise, connecting technology to business outcomes and risk.
Serve as a trusted CISO/CIO advisor for strategic growth accounts, leading conversations on business risk, cyber resilience, regulation, and industry change.
Align Microsoft Security and partner solutions to customer priorities such as Defend with AI, Security for AI, Secure Data, Unified SecOps, and Zero Trust.
Lead Level 200+ technical and architectural conversations with confidence understanding AI and infrastructure.
Own compete execution by deeply understanding competitors and leveraging customer compete concessions and programs to win.
Assist with top-deal pursuits to grow SU market share and influence business and technical decisions; defend the base with proactive, competitive positioning to prevent at-risk churn.
Lead virtual, cross-organizational teams on strategic projects and high-impact solution deployments that enable digital transformation.
Document and share key competitive insights with the field to improve sales motions.
Help the SU attain its security growth and revenue metrics.
Create and share compete playbooks, executive talk tracks, and discovery guides; co-sell with Digital Solution Specialists (DSS) and partners to strengthen overall team capability.
Provide real-time coaching during high-value engagements and deliver actionable post-engagement feedback to raise execution quality.
Scale field capability through enablement on competitive scenarios and emerging security trends.
Build mindshare through thought leadership and industry presence.
Orchestrate account teams, engineering, partners, customer success, and leadership to accelerate outcomes.
Maintain operational rigor that accelerates secure deployment and measurable customer value.
Scale Microsoft Security reach and impact through the partner ecosystem.
Bring impactful industry insights, market perspective, and threat intelligence into customer engagements.
Demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning in cybersecurity and foster innovation within the team.