Strategic Account Technology Strategist

Overview

Microsoft's EMEA Strategic Digital Platform (SDP) team is looking for a Strategic Account Technology Strategist to lead the Frontier transformation and innovation agenda across a portfolio of strategic ISV customers. In this role you act as the virtual CTO to your accounts — the go-to technology advisor in long-term relationships with technical and business decision-makers at CxO level. You set the technology strategy, translate industry and business scenarios into Microsoft solutions, and orchestrate the full Microsoft v-team behind it to generate demand, win share and accelerate your customers' digital transformation. You lead the account team's technical effort end to end: shaping joint priority initiatives and co-innovation roadmaps, qualifying and progressing the opportunities that matter, and holding Microsoft accountable to the commitments we have made. This is a role for a bold, commercially minded technologist who is energized by ambitious growth — for our customers and for Microsoft. Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Customer & industry insight Build deep fluency in the ISV's business model, product architecture, monetization motion and regulatory environment. Bring outside-in industry perspective - competitive, regulatory (e.g. sovereignty, EU Data Act), and technology trend that the customer cannot generate internally.
• Trusted technical advisor to the CTO/CPO Act as sparring partner to the customer’s CTO, CPO and technical leadership. Challenge outdated approaches and position Microsoft as a transformation and innovation partner. Seek out important customer stakeholders and actively challenge their perception of what is possible.
• Thought technology leadership and strategy formulation Own a multi-year technology strategy per account covering platform architecture, migration/modernization path, AI and data platform adoption, and ISV product-on-Azure economics. Make the strategy explicit, measurable and jointly signed off with the partner.
• Demand generation & v-team orchestration Generate and progress technical demand, and orchestrate specialists (STU, CSA, PTS, engineering, product groups) against it. Drive v-team meetings where you gather input, share your own, provide customer context, and ensure the team has a clear strategy that is progressing.
• Commercial contribution Create and progress opportunities - in real life and in CRM. Understand the customer's budget cycle and how and when decisions are made and give that clarity to the entire v-team. This role is accountable for commercial outcomes, not only architecture.
• Differentiated value proposition & account planning Co-own the account plan with the GCD/AE and CE. Quantify value through business cases, reference architectures, industry benchmarks, and proof points. Ensure the technical plan and the commercial plan are leading to the same customer outcome.
• Strategic programs & alliances Identify, position and lead strategic Frontier Transformation and alliance programs with executive customer stakeholders together with the v-team.
• Education & thought leadership Build technical capability inside the customer and inside Microsoft. Run architecture and innovation forums, create reference cases, and share expertise across account teams and the wider organization.
• Customer Obsession Act as a customer advocate focused on helping drive co-innovation and joint go to market. Win strategic partnership, land AI Alliance, and unlock joint potential of two tech leaders.

Qualifications

• Proven years of experience in building strategic technology partnerships through selling or consulting with startups and unicorns, with a focus on digital transformation
• Proven ability to influence without authority and experience leading large, matrixed virtual teams without formal authority, across sales, engineering and partner organizations
• Strong understanding of ISV ecosystem
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage with C-level executives and drive strategic initiatives
• Bachelor's degree or MBA preferred, or equivalent experience
• Tech intensity: We work with software development companies, so being curious and understanding their business model and how we can accelerate joint