Director, AI Strategy & Operations Program Manager

About the role

Microsoft AI's team is building the most capable and safe AI systems in the world. We operate as a lean research lab inside Microsoft, developing proprietary frontier models that power products used by billions of people. The Strategy & Operations team sits within the Office of the CEO of Microsoft AI. We are a small, flat team of individual contributors—no layers, no management hierarchy—comprising former investment bankers, top-tier strategy consultants, and technical advisors. We work directly on the problems that matter most to the organisation's success, identifying what needs to change and making it happen.

Our team:

• Owns competitive and market intelligence across the AI landscape, tracking what matters, synthesising it into sharp briefs, and turning analysis into concrete recommendations that leadership acts on.
• Shapes and runs the operating cadence for model development—organising decision forums, curating pre-reads, pressure-testing proposals, and driving follow-through so decisions don’t stall.
• Drives compute and resource allocation across strategic priorities, understanding organisational needs, identifying constraints, and maximising impact from finite resources.
• Coordinates execution across teams, partnering with engineering, research, infrastructure, and product to unblock priorities, escalate risks early, and keep critical initiatives moving.
• Authors strategic analysis and recommendation memos, translating complex technical and market dynamics into clear, evidence-based positions that leadership can act on.
• Builds relationships across Microsoft and with external partners, representing the team’s priorities and ensuring alignment on what matters.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate sharp analytical skills with the ability to quickly get up to speed on unfamiliar topics and form well-evidenced views. Be comfortable being wrong and changing your mind when the data says so.
• Produce strong written communication, such as crisp two-page memos that executives read end-to-end, not lengthy decks they skim.
• Work comfortably with ambiguity. The scope of this role will shift as priorities shift; you won’t always have perfect information, clear ownership boundaries, or a playbook to follow.
• Exhibit high agency—notice what’s broken, figure out the fix, and drive it without waiting to be asked.
• Show genuine curiosity about AI and large-scale model development. You don’t need a PhD, but you must care about the technology and be willing to build a real understanding of how frontier models are trained and deployed.
• Operate with humility. The team works in service to the organisation, holding strong opinions loosely, with low ego, and a willingness to do whatever the work requires—including the unglamorous parts.

Qualifications

Required:

• Master’s Degree in Business Administration or related field AND 4+ years of experience in marketing, strategy, business planning, consulting, banking, finance, economics, and/or partner organisations.
• OR Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Liberal Arts, Computer Science, or related field AND 6+ years of experience in marketing, strategy, business planning, consulting, banking, finance, economics, and/or partner organisations.
• OR Equivalent experience.

Preferred:

• Master’s Degree in Business Administration or related field AND 8+ years of experience in marketing, strategy, business planning, consulting, banking, finance, economics, and/or partner organisations.
• OR Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Liberal Arts, Computer Science, or related field AND 12+ years of experience in marketing, strategy, business planning, consulting, banking, finance, economics, and/or partner organisations.
• OR Equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in investment banking or a consultancy firm (e.g., Associate, Analyst, Consultant, or equivalent), or as a Program Manager.
• 3+ years of experience in strategy, management consulting, and/or finance.

Fit for the role

This role will suit you well if you have:

• Experience in strategy consulting, investment banking, private equity, corporate strategy, or a similar high-intensity analytical environment.
• A track record of operating at pace in environments where the stakes are real and the decisions matter.
• Experience working near senior leadership and producing materials that hold up under scrutiny.
• The ability to work across technical and non-technical teams, translating between the two fluently.

This role probably isn’t for you if:

• You’re drawn to this primarily for the brand or the title. We need people who care about the work itself.
• You crave the limelight. This is ultimately a service-oriented role, in support of the organisation as a whole rather than individual successes.
• Your experience is mostly in large, steady-state organisations where change moves slowly and decisions take quarters. The pace here is different.
• You prefer clearly defined lanes and established processes. This team builds the processes—it doesn’t inherit them.
• You’re looking for a traditional strategy role where the output is analysis. Here, the output is change.

Pay

The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $130,900 - $251,900 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $165,600 - $272,300 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation.