Senior Program Manager

Overview

Microsoft Silicon Cloud Hardware Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) is the team behind Microsoft’s expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” mission.

SCHIE delivers the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's over 200 online businesses including Bing, MSN, Office 365, Xbox Live, Skype, OneDrive and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with our server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions.

Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide and we are looking for passionate, high energy engineers to help achieve that mission.

As Microsoft’s Silicon and Cloud Hardware Infrastructure (SCHIE) business continues to grow, efficient management of engineering investments is essential to deliver silicon and hardware solutions on time, at scale, and with high quality.

The SCHIE Product and Procurement Optimization (SPPO) team drives portfolio optimization, governance, and execution controls that support the successful delivery of silicon development and cloud fleet hardware programs across Microsoft’s infrastructure portfolio.

The SPPO (SCHIE Product and Procurement Optimization) team is seeking a Senior Program Manager, Silicon & NPI Portfolio Optimization to drive portfolio strategy, investment governance, and operational execution across complex silicon design, platform development, and New Product Introduction (NPI) programs, including both internally developed silicon and third-party engineering engagements.

This role requires a strong understanding of hardware product development spanning silicon, systems, and platform technologies, combined with strategic thinking, business acumen, and a bias for action.

The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and builds strong partnerships across engineering leaders, technical leads, Finance, Procurement, Global Workplace Services (GWS-lab), Supply Chain, and external partners.

Leveraging deep program management expertise, engineering operations, financial acumen, procurement knowledge, and portfolio judgment, this individual will drive portfolio assessments, investment decisions, resource optimization, and data-driven decision making across CAPEX, OPEX, and COGS investments.

The role serves as a key bridge between Engineering, Finance, Procurement, and Operations, ensuring engineering investments are optimized to maximize business value, execution predictability, and portfolio outcomes.

Success in this role requires expertise in program management, engineering process optimization, vendor strategy, portfolio assessments, execution planning, and portfolio spend optimization across large-scale silicon and hardware development programs. The role connects engineering priorities with investment governance, TCO analysis, resource planning, and disciplined execution to drive predictable business outcomes.

#SCHIE

Responsibilities

Silicon & NPI Portfolio Management

• Lead portfolio planning, prioritization, and execution across the silicon development lifecycle and NPI programs including architecture, design, emulation, prototyping, validation, silicon and system bring-up.
• Drive portfolio assessments and investment tradeoff decisions by evaluating resource requirements, dependencies, execution risks and priorities across the portfolio.
• Partner with engineering leaders and technical leads to translate product roadmaps into actionable spending forecast and well-funded operational plans aligned with program priorities and business objectives.
• Establish portfolio metrics and escalation frameworks that improve visibility, accountability, and predictable delivery of silicon and NPI portfolio.

Engineering Optimization, Investment Governance & TCO

• Lead long range portfolio investment planning, forecasting, prioritization, and spend optimization across silicon and NPI programs including portfolio reviews, and variance management.
• Develop business cases and apply Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) models, NPV to support make-versus-buy decisions, third-party development strategies, vendor selections, infrastructure investments, and long-range technology planning.
• Manage portfolio visibility across CAPEX, OPEX, COGS, NRE, and discretionary spend while ensuring alignment with capitalization policies, financial controls, and investment objectives.
• Identify engineering optimization opportunities across outsourced development, EDA tools, IP, emulation, compute, labs, prototypes, silicon and platform development to improve investment efficiency and engineering productivity.
• Establish investment guardrails and review processes that improve budget management discipline, resource allocation, and portfolio optimization.

Procurement, Vendor & Infrastructure Management

• Manage end-to-end procurement processes, including purchase orders, contracts, supplier commitments, invoicing, accruals, and budget governance across silicon and NPI programs.
• Partner with Engineering, Finance, Procurement, GWS, and suppliers to align infrastructure, lab, facility, and third-party development investments with program roadmaps and milestones.
• Drive vendor and outsourced engineering governance, monitoring performance, delivery commitments, financials, and contractual obligations.
• Identify opportunities for vendor optimization, cost avoidance, infrastructure efficiency, and improved spend visibility through effective governance and planning.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as a trusted advisor to Engineering Leaders, Technical Leads, Finance, Procurement, GWS, and external partners to influence portfolio priorities, investment decisions, and execution outcomes.
• Influence decision-making across organizations, drive clarity on ownership, dependencies, commitments, and escalation paths, and facilitate effective communication between senior leaders and engineering teams.
• Manage risks and recovery plans, provide data-driven recommendations, and deliver concise executive communications that highlight portfolio health, opportunities, key decisions, and recommended actions.

Data, AI & Operational Excellence

• Define and track KPIs for portfolio health, NPI readiness, forecast accuracy, investment efficiency, purchase-order execution, vendor performance, and optimization outcomes.
• Identify and implement AI and agentic AI solutions that improve portfolio planning, forecasting, spend governance, procurement operations, reporting, and executive decision support.
• Develop executive dashboards and reporting mechanisms that convert complex program and spend data into actionable insights.
• Establish scalable business rhythms, governance processes, and reporting mechanisms for portfolio reviews, investment decisions, risk management, and spend governance.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 6+ years experience in program management, process management, or process improvement
• OR equivalent experience.

Preferred qualifications

• Master's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 8+ years experience in program management, process management, or process improvement
• OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 12+ years experience in program management, process management, or process improvement
• OR equivalent experience
• 5+ years of experience leading complex, cross-functional programs involving Engineering, Finance, Procurement, operations, suppliers, and senior stakeholders
• Experience supporting silicon or hardware development organizations through portfolio planning, investment governance, budget management, or engineering business operations.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage data, AI, Copilot, and agentic AI capabilities to improve de