Principal PM Manager

Overview

The Employee Experiences (EX) organization within HR is responsible for designing and delivering end‑to‑end, connected experiences that support employees, managers, HR partners, and leaders across the full employee lifecycle. EX brings together HR technology platforms, AI‑powered services, and experience design to simplify work, build trust, and enable employees to thrive at scale in a global, highly regulated environment.

The Principal PM Manager role in Employee Experience, HR Technology and AI, is a senior people manager and strategic product leader who owns multi‑year product strategy and execution across complex, employee‑facing platforms. This role drives cross‑HR and cross‑company alignment, leads responsible AI‑enabled innovation, and ensures measurable improvements in employee experience, operational efficiency, and business outcomes.

This position is based at the Redmond campus with 3 days per week work in the office and 2 days per week work from home. Relocation assistance is available.

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

Key Responsibilities

Product Vision and Strategy

• Define and drive the long‑term vision and product strategy for HR technology and employee experience platforms (e.g., time, benefits, rewards, payroll, mobility, or core HR systems).

• Identify and prioritize high‑impact opportunities, including AI‑enabled capabilities, that improve employee experience, HR effectiveness, and business outcomes.

• Build a strategic agenda that addresses complex employee and HR problems across personas, geographies, and policy environments.

• Ensure alignment of product strategy with organizational priorities, success criteria, and long‑term investment goals.

Portfolio and Experience Leadership

• Own a portfolio of experiences across multiple feature areas, ensuring cohesive, intuitive, and connected employee journeys.

• Resolve large‑scale, complex alignment challenges across HR functions, Engineering, Design, Privacy, Legal, Security, and Operations.

• Guide teams in defining roadmaps, release criteria, and adoption strategies that balance experience quality, compliance, scalability, and technical constraints.

• Lead platform evolution, including modernization, AI enablement, and intentional deprecation of low‑value or legacy experiences.

Data, Metrics, and Business Impact

• Accountable for organizational‑level outcomes, including employee satisfaction, adoption, self‑service success, operational efficiency, and cost optimization.

• Ensure teams define and track clear success metrics and OKRs, using data and insights to inform prioritization and continuous improvement.

• Partner with HR and business leaders to explain outcomes, tradeoffs, and ROI, influencing investment and roadmap decisions with evidence‑based insights.

Responsible AI, Trust, and Compliance

• Ensure HR and AI solutions meet privacy, security, compliance, accessibility, and ethical standards, particularly for sensitive employee data.

• Drive adoption of Responsible AI principles, including transparency, human‑in‑the‑loop design, and quality safeguards in employee‑facing AI experiences.

• Build and maintain employee trust through reliable experiences, clear intent, and thoughtful change management.

Cross‑Functional and Stakeholder Leadership

• Lead deep collaboration with Engineering, Design, HR Centers of Excellence, Legal, Privacy, Security, Finance, and Operations.

• Engage senior HR and business leaders to gather input, secure alignment, and communicate product strategy and progress through executive forums.

• Represent the HR Tech and Employee Experience portfolio with credibility, clarity, and influence at senior leadership levels.

People Management and Product Culture

• Manage and develop Product Managers, fostering strong product judgment, customer obsession, and execution discipline.

• Set expectations for high‑quality employee‑centric design, data‑driven decision‑making, and inclusive leadership.

• Drive performance management, coaching, and career development aligned to Microsoft’s Product Management standards.

Core Capabilities and Skills

• Strategic leadership across complex, people‑centric, and regulated domains

• Strong cross‑organizational influence and executive communication

• Data‑driven prioritization across experience, compliance, cost, and scale

• Deep empathy for employee and HR personas

• Experience applying AI responsibly in enterprise, employee‑facing products

• Proven people leadership and portfolio ownership

Scope and Impact

• Scope: Multiple HR technology platforms or experience portfolios

• Influence: Senior HR, business, and engineering leadership

• Accountability: Employee experience quality, AI outcomes, operational efficiency, and team health

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree AND 10+ years experience in product/service/program management or software development OR equivalent experience.

• 3+ years people management experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in HR technology, employee experience platforms, or internal enterprise systems serving large, global populations namely time, benefits, rewards, payroll, mobility, people insights or core HR systems.

• Experience delivering AI‑powered, agentic experiences or automation‑driven products, including familiarity with Responsible AI principles.

• Experience operating in enterprise, platform, or services‑based environments, preferably SuccessFactors, Workday, SAP, and ADP.

• Demonstrated success driving organizational‑level metrics, such as adoption, satisfaction, operational efficiency, or cost optimization.

• Master’s degree (MBA, MS, or equivalent) or equivalent advanced experience.

• Proven ability to define strategy, prioritize investments, and deliver measurable business outcomes using data and customer insights.

• Experience managing and developing Product Managers, including performance management and career growth.

Product Management M6 - 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:

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. (