Principal Technical Program Manager - FDE

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

8d • $142,800 - $304,200

About The Position

The Principal Technical Program Manager will embed with strategic customers to lead complex technical programs from problem definition through co-engineering delivery, owning the end-to-end customer journey and driving measurable business outcomes. The role aligns business needs with engineering solutions across AI, cloud, and data, working with multidisciplinary crews of engineers, data scientists, designers, and customer engineers. It requires high autonomy and the ability to make decisions in ambiguous customer environments, using data-driven recommendations to manage risks and tradeoffs.

AI-assisted engineering is a daily operating mode. The program manager uses AI tools across the software development lifecycle to accelerate requirements and specifications, generate engineering artifacts from customer context, and move value from business need to production. They work directly in engineering tools such as VS Code, GitHub, and AI agents, validating AI-generated outputs with domain expertise to maintain quality, security, and trust. The role also champions reusable solution patterns, open-source assets, engineering playbooks, and knowledge sharing to scale impact beyond individual customer engagements.

The Microsoft Frontier Company Engineering team uses a Forward Deployed Engineering model, embedding alongside customer teams to solve complex challenges and deliver production-ready solutions rapidly. This position may involve travel up to 25%. Microsoft cannot sponsor a work visa for this role due to the nature of its duties.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree and 6+ years of experience in engineering, product or technical program management, data analysis, or product development, or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects.
• Must be able to work in the United States without employer-sponsored work visa support for this role.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor's degree and 12+ years of experience in engineering, product or technical program management, data analysis, or product development, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects.
• 1+ year of experience reading and/or writing code, such as for sample documentation or product demos.
• 1+ year of experience in customer-facing technical roles, such as consulting, solutions engineering, or field engineering.
• Experience with AI/ML technologies, cloud architecture, data engineering, and using AI tools and workflows to create software engineering artifacts.
• Comfort with travel up to 25%.

Responsibilities

• Embed with strategic customers to lead complex technical programs, aligning business needs with engineering solutions across AI, cloud, and data.
• Own the customer journey from problem definition through co-engineering delivery to measurable business outcomes.
• Use AI-assisted engineering practices across the software development lifecycle to accelerate requirements-to-specifications, create engineering artifacts from customer context, and drive value into production.
• Use engineering tools such as VS Code, GitHub, and AI agents for planning, documentation, and technical program leadership; validate AI-generated outputs with domain expertise.
• Navigate ambiguity with self-direction and ownership; make technical and program decisions with incomplete information, identify opportunities, manage risks, and provide data-driven stakeholder recommendations.
• Champion reusable solution patterns, open-source assets, and engineering playbooks, and contribute knowledge and best practices to the broader engineering community.
• Partner with software engineers, data scientists, designers, and customer engineers to evaluate, design, and deliver AI-powered cloud solutions.
• Provide stakeholders with data-driven recommendations based on identified risks and tradeoffs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal