Director of Operational Excellence, AI Strategy & Business Innovation

Company: Microsoft
Location: Redmond
Posted on: February 23, 2026

Job Description:

We’re looking for a Director of Operational Excellence to lead a high?impact team within our AI Strategy & Business Innovation (AISBI) orgaization that turns AI strategy into disciplined execution at scale. This role sits at the center of how we plan, govern, and operationalize AI delivery across the business — translating ambition into clarity, rigor, and measurable outcomes. This is a people-leader role, responsible for building, leading, and developing a multidisciplinary team of individual contributors across operataions governance, workforce execution, tooling, and data & insights. You’ll set direction, raise the bar on operational excellence, and create an environment where smart, motivated operators can do the best work of their careers. You’ll partner closely with senior leaders across Customer Success, Finance, HR, and Workforce Planning to ensure we are investing in the right talent, at the right time, with the right level of operational control — while continuously modernizing how we run through AI?enabled workflows and better decision intelligence. If you’re energized by scaling teams, simplifying complexity, and building operating models that actually work, this role offers both ownership and influence at a global level. About the Team: This role sits within Customer Experience & Success (CE&S), a global organization with more than 45,000 employees and partners worldwide who are dedicated to helping customers realize meaningful business value from Microsoft’s products and services. CE&S brings together consulting, customer success, and support to deliver experiences that are human?centered, digitally enabled, and deeply connected across the company. Within CE&S, the Global Customer Success (GCS) organization is leading the effort to enable customer success on the Microsoft Cloud by combining AI-powered capabilities and human expertise to deliver innovated solutions that accelerate business value, drive operational excellence, and nurture long-term loyalty. This position supports the AISBI Customer Success Unit (CSU) , where we work with complex, industry?specific AI scenarios and high?impact customer transformations. The Operational Excellence team serves as the backbone of this work — ensuring that strategy, talent, capacity, and execution stay aligned as we scale. 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 Operations System of Record & Governance Own end?to?end capacity, hiring, and resource governance for the organization. Ensure alignment to financial targets, demand signals, and P&L constraints. Lead executive?level hiring and spend reviews with clear controls, transparency, and decision?ready insights. Capacity & Resource Execution Excellence Translate workforce plans into consistent, scalable hiring and execution workflows. Enable the organization to respond quickly to changing business needs while maintaining operational rigor and compliance. Data, Insights & Decision Enablement Deliver actionable operational insights through dashboards, weekly reporting, and executive readouts. Turn data into clear guidance on hiring velocity, execution health, and capacity risk. Help leaders make faster, higher?quality decisions with confidence AI?Enabled Scaling & Continuous Improvement Apply AI and continuous improvement principles to simplify operations and reduce friction. Partner across Services and AISBI transformation efforts to scale best practices and reduce fragmentation. People Leadership & Stakeholder Trust • Build, lead, and develop a high performing team spanning governance, hiring operations, workflow tooling, and data & insights. • Act as a trusted partner to Finance, HR, Workforce Planning, and CE&S leadership, embedding accountability and a culture of operational excellence. Qualifications Required Qualifications Bachelors Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 8 years experience in program management, process management, or process improvement OR equivalent experience. 6 years management (e.g., people, vendor, change) experience. Preferred Qualifications Proven experience leading operational excellence at scale in large, global organizations, with a strong continuous improvement mindset. Deep understanding of professional services, cloud transformation, and AI driven operating models. Deep analytical and modeling expertise, able to operate across altitudes—from strategic framing to detailed execution. Passion for developing talent and fostering inclusive, high performance environments. Effective executive communication skills with the ability to deliver clear, compelling narratives to diverse audiences. Experience managing complex, cross-functional initiatives under tight timelines. Ability to drive impact through both individual leadership and v-team collaboration. Business Program Management M6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $130,900 - $277,200 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 - $303,600 per year.

Keywords: Microsoft, Shoreline , Director of Operational Excellence, AI Strategy & Business Innovation, IT / Software / Systems , Redmond, Washington