Senior Director Technical Excellence Design Management

Overview

Microsoft is on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world. You can help us achieve our mission. 

Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) is the organization that powers Microsoft’s core cloud platforms and services that millions of people use every day. With more than 95% of Fortune 500 business on Azure, 180 million using Office 365, and millions using other services – all running on Microsoft's cloud infrastructure, CO+I builds and operates the foundation upon which Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organization comes to life. With environmental sustainability and optimization at the forefront of our datacenter design and operations, we continue to grow and evolve as we meet the ever-changing business demands that hold Microsoft as a world-class cloud provider. 

We are seeking a Senior Director Technical Excellence Design Management to join the CO+I Global Datacenter Engineering Team (GDCE). The Senior Director Technical Excellence Design Management is responsible for providing design management leadership for first of a kind and projects, guiding them from early concept through design completion and handoff to construction. The role requires leading and coordinating cross-functional collaboration across internal Microsoft stakeholders to align requirements, resolve ambiguity, and drive clarity around scope, while also managing A/E partners to ensure design delivery meets quality standards, contractual obligations, schedule commitments, and cost targets.

Responsibilities

• Drive and influence key project decisions by evaluating trade-offs across safety, quality, schedule, and cost while incorporating business case considerations to achieve optimal outcomes.
• Provide design management oversight for complex and first-of-a-kind projects, ensuring technical, operational, and business objectives are aligned throughout the project lifecycle.
• Implement, and enforce design governance processes to ensure consistency, quality, compliance, and effective decision-making across projects.
• Lead quality control efforts and ensure lessons learned are captured, documented, and incorporated into future project designs and standards.
• Serve as the senior technical escalation point for complex design and engineering challenges, providing guidance and resolution strategies for high-impact issues.
• Facilitate structured, data-driven decision-making to resolve technical ambiguity and support project teams in navigating complex design challenges.
• Provide strategic leadership, direction, and technical oversight to regional design managers, ensuring alignment with global standards, processes, and best practices.
• Drive consistency in project execution across regions through standardized design approaches, governance frameworks, and performance expectations.
• Collaborate with engineering, operations, and technical stakeholders to evaluate, introduce, and validate new technologies and innovative solutions.
• Lead value engineering initiatives to improve project outcomes by optimizing cost, schedule, constructability, maintainability, and operational performance.
• Drive continuous improvement of design delivery processes through process optimization, standardization, and adoption of industry and organizational best practices.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration among engineering disciplines, regional delivery teams, and business stakeholders to ensure successful project execution.
• Support the development and maintenance of global design standards, specifications, and technical requirements to enhance consistency and efficiency across the portfolio.
• Ensure technical decisions are aligned with organizational strategy, long-term platform roadmaps, and operational objectives.
• Embody our culture and values.   

Qualifications

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical/Mechanical/Civil/Structural Engineering or Architectural AND 8+ years experience in engineering of mission critical projects
  • OR equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects

Background Check Requirements: 

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: 

• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical/Mechanical/Civil/Structural Engineering or Architectural AND 15+ years experience in engineering of mission critical projects OR equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects
• 10+ years of experience leading designs for mission critical projects
• Registered Professional Engineer or Architect

#COICareers

Technical Program Management IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $165,600 - $296,400 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 $220,800 - $331,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.