Senior Business Planner, Gaming

Microsoft•Los Angeles, CA

6h•$142,800 - $274,800

About The Position

Microsoft is seeking a Senior Business Planner to drive business planning for its gaming advertising business. The role connects gaming supply and advertiser demand with Microsoft’s broader advertising portfolio across Xbox, King, Activision Blizzard, and other gaming inventory spanning console, PC, mobile, and streaming. The planner will take initiatives from idea to delivery by sizing opportunities, building business cases, incorporating customer and market evidence into product planning, and driving cross-functional execution. The position develops strategic plans across demand, supply, products, and platforms; helps prioritize initiatives; and leads workstreams through opportunity sizing, demand strategy, and business-requirements documentation. It also supports publisher planning through business cases and consideration of monetization and advertising policies. The planner uses customer, field, market, and stakeholder insights—including AI-assisted analysis—to shape recommendations and inform product planning. They communicate plans and evidence to stakeholders and leaders through written documents, meetings, and presentations, partnering with Product, Engineering, Operations, Finance, and Sales. This role is classified as Technical Program Management IC5. The typical U.S. base pay range is $142,800–$274,800 per year. For specified locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metropolitan area, the range is $188,000–$304,200 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled, and the posting will remain open for at least five days.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of 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.
Ability to structure ambiguous situations into plans, identify root causes, test hypotheses, and implement proposals.
Ability to use customer, field, market-research, and stakeholder insights to develop recommendations.
Ability to assess the integrity, relevance, and limitations of AI-generated insights used in business decisions.
Ability to communicate at an executive level through visual, written, and verbal communication in global contexts with technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to work across diverse stakeholders, including Sales, to define and execute strategic initiatives.
Ability to build trust and influence leaders across business and engineering teams through hands-on engagement.
Sound business judgment and ability to make decisions using strategic thinking, bias for action, and operational excellence.
Ability to thrive in a fast-moving, exciting, and often ambiguous environment.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree and 12+ years of experience in engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development, or equivalent experience.
8+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects.
At least one year of experience reading and/or writing code, such as for sample documentation or product demos.
Experience in gaming, entertainment, or media, or working with publishers and advertisers to create and sell media products.
Strong familiarity with the digital environment and a clear understanding of the media planning and buying process.
A proven track record of executing strategic initiatives across diverse stakeholders, including Sales, with passion, precision, and excellence.

Responsibilities

Develop detailed project plans, timelines, and deliverables for assigned workstreams, consolidating milestones and dependencies across projects.
Identify and manage interdependencies across workstreams to avoid bottlenecks and support timely delivery.
Lead governance rhythms and execution, provide regular stakeholder updates, and maintain clarity on status and risks.
Develop strategic plans to drive and transform the gaming business across demand, supply, products, and platforms, and influence initiative prioritization.
Lead workstreams involving opportunity identification and sizing, demand strategy, and business-requirements documentation.
Coordinate cross-functional teams to make business and demand plans comprehensive and rationalized across publishers, surfaces, and sales motions.
Support publisher planning with opportunity sizing and business cases, including monetization and advertising-policy considerations.
Structure ambiguous problems into defined plans, identify root causes, test hypotheses, and implement proposals.
Use voice-of-customer, voice-of-field, market research, and stakeholder input to develop recommendations and provide thought leadership on growth opportunities.
Use AI and automation to synthesize data and identify patterns, while owning the integrity, relevance, and limitations of AI-generated insights used for business decisions.
Contribute to gaming advertising competitive intelligence and market benchmarking, and represent relevant evidence in product planning and prioritization forums.
Communicate and advocate plans to business leaders through written documents, meetings, and presentations.
Build data-supported storylines that demonstrate measurable outcomes.
Deliver recommendations and implications to stakeholders to facilitate discussion and decision-making.
Partner across Product, Engineering, Operations, Finance, and Sales to ensure alignment.