Space Planner

Microsoft•Mountain View, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Microsoft AI Experiences (AIX) is responsible for building the end-user AI experience at Microsoft, covering areas like Copilot, Search, Browser, Content, Commerce, and Monetization. AIX comprises approximately 7,000 employees and contingent staff working from key locations in Redmond, Mountain View, and New York City, with engineering centers in India and China, and established teams in Vancouver, San Francisco, Barcelona, Cairo, and other sites. The organization operates with agility, frequently re-teams, and requires physical spaces that facilitate co-location and collaboration. This role is a unique, standalone position within AIX, not part of a central real estate team. The Space Planner will be the sole accountable person for AIX's workplace footprint and the primary liaison with Global Workplace Services (GWS). GWS provides expertise in real estate transactions, portfolio strategy, capital investment management, workplace strategy, and global facility operations. The scope includes managing space for around 7,000 employees and contingent staff across AIX's main hubs and other North American, European, and Asian sites. The ideal candidate is an energetic, analytical, and highly accountable individual contributor who will serve as the Space Planning Manager for AI Experiences, based in Mountain View, CA or Redmond, WA. This role involves close collaboration with AIX leaders to understand team trajectories and translate these into detailed seat-level plans, neighborhood designs, and move sequencing. The Space Planner will also work with GWS portfolio planning managers, regional occupancy planners, and site space administrators to secure necessary space for AIX, ensure data accuracy for allocation decisions, and maintain alignment with Microsoft's real estate strategy, workplace standards, and cost governance. Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, guiding its partnerships and solutions. The company fosters a growth mindset culture, emphasizing responsible innovation and shared progress with its employees, teams, and customers. Joining Microsoft offers the opportunity to engage in meaningful work that impacts the world and shapes future advancements.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Real Estate, Project Management, Architecture, Data Analytics, or related field, AND 4+ years of experience in space or occupancy planning, corporate real estate, workplace strategy, or business operations OR 7+ years of equivalent experience.
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Real Estate, Project Management, Architecture, Data Analytics, or related field AND 7+ years of space planning, occupancy planning, corporate real estate, or workplace strategy experience OR 10+ years of equivalent experience.
Experience planning space for a large, fast-moving technology or engineering organization, including frequent reorganizations, rapid headcount growth, and shifting leadership priorities.
Experience working directly with headcount, seat, and utilization data, including building and maintaining allocation plans in spreadsheets or a dedicated planning system.
Experience as the business-side counterpart to a central corporate real estate or facilities function, translating business needs into space requirements and negotiating allocation on behalf of an organization.
Comprehend, analyze, and interpret complex documents and data, demonstrating advanced analytical and quantitative skills to model capacity, cost, and trade-off scenarios that inform executive decisions.
Familiarity with Microsoft workplace systems and planning processes such as MS Space, Artemis, occupancy planning cycles, and seat allocation models, or equivalent CAFM/IWMS tooling elsewhere.
Experience planning across multiple geographies and time zones, including international sites with local workplace norms and constraints.
Apply long-term, strategic perspective and forecasting, demonstrating solid organizational skills to develop and prioritize plans at both strategic and execution levels.
Exhibit solid communication and influencing skills to present information clearly to senior leaders and respond effectively to sensitive or contested issues.
Drive solutions and lead effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, with a continuous improvement mindset and a passion for optimizing space and elevating the employee experience.

Responsibilities

Own immediate and multi-year space and occupancy plans for AIX, translating headcount forecasts, reorganizations, hiring plans, and business priorities into seat-level allocation plans across the organization's global footprint.
Serve as the single point of contact between AIX leadership and Global Workplace Services, representing AIX requirements in portfolio planning cycles and translating GWS strategy, standards, and constraints back to AIX leaders in terms they can act on.
Establish and maintain a trusted source of truth for AIX headcount, seat allocation, and utilization; reconcile differences between organizational data, allocation models, and observed occupancy, and use that evidence to make the case for what AIX actually needs.
Design and maintain team neighborhoods and adjacency plans that keep engineering, product, design, research, and business teams co-located, and rework them as the organization changes shape.
Plan and execute moves, restacks, and consolidations across Redmond, Mountain View, New York City, and other AIX sites, including sequencing, stakeholder alignment, communications, and day-of coordination with occupancy planners and space administrators.
Build growth and flex capacity into every plan so the organization can absorb hiring, integrations, and frequent re-teaming without a full replan or a disruptive move.
Partner with AIX leadership on location strategy, including core hub concentration, minimum population thresholds for non-core offices, and recommendations to consolidate or wind down sites.
Define and secure specialty space requirements, including labs, secure and restricted areas, hardware and device testing space, studio and content space, and leadership areas.
Own the tools and reporting behind the work, including MS Space, Artemis, and seat allocation models, and deliver recurring occupancy, capacity, and utilization reporting to AIX leadership.
Lead cross-functional v-teams spanning AIX business operations, HR, Security, IT, employee experience, and GWS to deliver space outcomes on schedule and to a defined standard.
Uphold Microsoft space governance, cost governance, and workplace standards, balancing AIX business needs against Microsoft's broader financial responsibilities.
Provide clarity and options when navigating ambiguity, competing leadership requests, and trade-offs, and manage escalations to a decision rather than a stalemate.
Embody our culture and values