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Principal Technical Program Manager

Microsoft· Technical Program Management
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Redmond, WA$142.8k - $274.8kFull-timePosted 1w ago

About the role

The Office of the CTO (OCTO) at Microsoft leads high-impact, forward-looking technical initiatives and partnerships. The role focuses on OpenAI Partnership Operations, providing structure, visibility, and accountability across a complex, multi-team partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI.

Responsibilities

  • Lead partnership operations: Own and continuously improve the operating model for the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership.
  • Create structure across a complex portfolio of priorities, workstreams, stakeholders, decisions, commitments, and dependencies.
  • Establish effective operating rhythms, governance mechanisms, communication channels, and decision processes.
  • Ensure the partnership operates as a coordinated system rather than a collection of disconnected initiatives.
  • Identify friction in how teams work together and drive practical improvements to increase speed, clarity, and effectiveness.
  • Maintain the full partnership context: Develop and maintain a comprehensive view of Microsoft's priorities, activities, commitments, risks, opportunities, and unmet needs across the partnership.
  • Connect information across product, engineering, research, infrastructure, safety, security, Legal, business, and executive discussions.
  • Understand the strategic and technical context behind major workstreams so operational decisions reflect Microsoft’s broader objectives.
  • Identify patterns, cross-workstream dependencies, and emerging issues not visible to any single team.
  • Serve as a trusted source of context for the Head of OpenAI Partnership and senior stakeholders.
  • Drive execution and accountability: Translate partnership priorities into clear plans with owners, milestones, dependencies, and expected outcomes.
  • Ensure commitments are documented, understood, and followed through to completion.
  • Identify and resolve roadblocks and escalate as needed.
  • Hold stakeholders accountable across boundaries while maintaining positive relationships.
  • Distinguish between resolvable issues and those needing broader alignment or escalation.
  • Maintain focus on outcomes rather than process.
  • Apply strategic judgment to operations: Connect day-to-day execution to broader partnership objectives and long-term AI strategy.
  • Evaluate progress and approach to ensure right problem focus.
  • Identify gaps between strategy and execution and recommend changes.
  • Anticipate second-order effects, dependencies, and risks.
  • Use operational insight to inform leadership decisions.
  • Challenge assumptions and surface concerns when needed.
  • Provide leadership visibility and decision support: Deliver clear, current, decision-oriented views of the partnership to senior leaders.
  • Synthesize complex information into concise explanations with recommended actions.
  • Prepare leadership for reviews, decisions, and discussions with OpenAI.
  • Tailor communications to audience to produce clarity and action.
  • Proactively surface changes, unresolved decisions, and risks.
  • Ensure leadership discussions result in clear decisions, owners, and follow-through.
  • Launch new partnership initiatives: Turn new ideas into executable engagements with Microsoft and OpenAI stakeholders.
  • Clarify objectives, outcomes, scope, stakeholders, dependencies, ownership model, and success criteria for new initiatives.
  • Align and begin execution with the right leaders and teams across Microsoft and OpenAI.
  • Create initial operating structure, governance, communication model, and execution plan.
  • Guide engagements from concept through execution and integration into the broader model.
  • Transition mature initiatives to long-term owners while maintaining visibility into dependencies.
  • Coordinate across Microsoft and OpenAI: Build trusted relationships with product leaders, engineers, researchers, business leaders, legal, and executives across both companies.
  • Maintain coordination when engaging OpenAI on shared priorities.
  • Navigate differing perspectives, unclear ownership, and competing priorities with sound judgment.
  • Facilitate difficult discussions and help stakeholders reach decisions without unnecessary bureaucracy.
  • Represent Microsoft’s priorities and context in operational discussions with OpenAI.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree AND 6+ years experience in engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR equivalent experience.

Skills

Required:Cross-functional program managementStrategic judgmentCommunication to senior leaders
Nice to have:AI/Cloud familiarity
Last updated Oct 16, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

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