Senior Manager, Gaming Strategy - Audience Insights

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

15d

About The Position

At Microsoft Gaming, we aspire to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. Gaming, the largest and fastest growing category in media & entertainment, represents an important growth opportunity for Microsoft. We are leading with innovation across our entire business, highlighted by our platform, which spans Xbox PC; Xbox Console; Xbox Cloud Gaming; alongside our world-class gaming studios: Activision, Blizzard, King, Bethesda, Mojang, and Xbox Game Studios.
Gaming Strategy serves as a central strategy function for Microsoft’s Gaming Division. We work closely with the Gaming Executive Leadership Team and with partners across the Division to identify and evaluate transformative growth opportunities. We focus on:
Driving research, analysis, and framing of competitive and audience dynamics within the gaming industry and broader media & entertainment;
Supporting the Leadership Team in defining and articulating strategic direction for Gaming;
Leading project-based quantitative and qualitative decision support on critical business questions and strategic initiatives across Microsoft Gaming;
Supporting Microsoft’s corporate strategy rhythm of business.
Gaming Strategy is looking for a Senior Manager - Audience Insights, a hybrid research and strategy role representing the key point of contact and source of truth for audience insights and data across Xbox and the broader Microsoft Gaming organization. This role will provide internal thought leadership on serving the 3 billion+ players around the world: leveraging a deep understanding of audience data, building a comprehensive framework for understanding of players globally, and translating said understanding into strategic and actionable insights across the division. This role will be a core liaison between product and business teams and the research function, be embedded in strategic conversations, represent the voice of the player and guide decisions with contextualized research: in short, guiding strategy and product decisions with precision understanding of players and audiences.
This role reports to the Senior Director of Gaming Strategy and partners closely with leaders across Product, Engineering, Business Planning, Business Development, Marketing, and more. It requires comfort navigating ambiguity, building trusted relationships, and driving strategic impact across a dynamic, cross-functional environment.

Requirements

• Master's Degree in Business Administration or related field AND 3+ years marketing, strategy, business planning, consulting, banking, finance, economics, and/or partner organization experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Liberal Arts, Computer Science, or related field AND 4+ years marketing, strategy, business planning, consulting, banking, finance, economics, and/or partner organization experience OR equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

• Master's Degree in Business Administration or related field AND 6+ years marketing, strategy, business planning, consulting, banking, finance, economics, and/or partner organization experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Liberal Arts, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years marketing, strategy, business planning, consulting, banking, finance, economics, and/or partner organization experience OR equivalent experience.
• 3+ years experience in Strategy, Management Consulting, and/or Finance.
• 8+ years in audience research, strategy, or analytics roles within gaming, media, entertainment, or technology sectors.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data into actionable strategic insights.
• History of partnering with or managing external research vendors/agencies.
• Proven track record of influencing senior stakeholders and driving strategic decisions across product, business, and research teams.
• Deep familiarity with audience segmentation frameworks, total addressable market (TAM) analyses, and audience sizing methodologies.
• Ability to interpret complex data sets, contextualize findings, and communicate insights clearly to executive audiences.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including executive-ready presentations.
• Demonstrated success building trusted relationships in ambiguous, dynamic, and cross-functional environments.
• Advanced degree (MBA, MS, or PhD) in business, marketing, analytics, or related field.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools, analytics platforms, and research methodologies (quantitative and qualitative).
• History of partnering with or managing external research vendors/agencies.

Responsibilities

• Lead audience insights workstreams related to audience segmentation, total-addressable market (TAM) analyses, and audience sizing.
• Coordinate and maintain deep awareness of audience insights workstreams across the organization.
• Collaborate with market, brand, and user research teams to synthesize findings into easily digestible and widely applicable persona profiles for modeling and targeting.
• Represent audience insights in cross-functional meetings and strategic planning sessions.
• Connect stakeholders to the right data sources and research owners (e.g., MDP studies, brand tracking).
• Inform acquisition campaigns, product planning, and partnership strategies based on audience behaviors and preferences.
• Maintain deep familiarity with Xbox’s audience taxonomy and player segmentation.
• Maintain a collaborative network across Xbox, acting as a liaison who ensures insights are shared and leveraged across the org.
• Have, or be able to quickly develop, deep familiarity with Xbox’s organizational structure to navigate teams like publishing, brand, and product effectively.

What This Job Offers

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