Principal Technical Program Manager

Microsoft

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: US
Salary: $142,800–$274,800 / yr
Posted: 36 days ago
Closes: Nov 18, 2026
Nearby: 93 roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $187k

This role $209k

$127k most similar roles pay here $291k

This role pays more than 77% of similar roles. Most pay $165,000–$208,800 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $209k versus about $187k for comparable roles.

Based on 238 similar postings.

Employer

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology leader producing software, hardware, and cloud services including Windows, Office 365, Azure cloud platform, Xbox gaming, and Surface devices. Industry: Software & Cloud Computing

Microsoft currently has 622 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $119,800–$234,700 across 559 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Technical Program Manager

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As a Principal Technical Program Manager at Microsoft Research (MSR), you will work with a multidisciplinary team to translate early-stage AI infrastructure research into shippable cloud capabilities. Your day-to-day responsibilities include shaping technical concepts into product roadmaps, driving execution with Azure engineering teams, and managing external suppliers to ensure timely delivery of critical components. You will define success criteria for moving prototypes to general availability, aligning stakeholders across MSR, Azure, and the supplier ecosystem. The role requires expertise in optics, photonics, networking, and hardware simulation tools, as well as strong communication skills to engage with diverse technical audiences. This position offers opportunities to deepen your technical breadth in cutting-edge research and large-scale cloud systems while building an influential network spanning Microsoft Research, Azure, and external partners.

Skills

Azure Kubernetes CI/CD Docker Terraform PostgreSQL Python JavaScript Networking Photonics Optics Advanced_Packaging Co_Packaged_Optics Memory_Hierarchies Hardware_Simulation Modeling_Tools

What you'll do

Translate early-stage AI research into shippable cloud capabilities with researchers and Azure teams.
Design technical solutions spanning models, systems, and hardware, making data-driven recommendations to leads.
Define success criteria for moving research prototypes to general availability across multi-team efforts.
Own program structure end-to-end, including roadmap, schedule, staging plans, and governance.
Validate use cases against live workloads and bring customer feedback back to MSR and Azure teams.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field (engineering, computer science, physics) and 6+ years experience in technical roles.
Master’s or PhD in a relevant field with 6+ years experience in engineering or product development.
Basic understanding of optics/photonics to engage researchers on technical trade-offs.
Knowledge of networking and interconnects for datacenter environments.
Familiarity with hardware/system simulation tools.
Strong written and verbal communication skills for diverse audiences.
Experience working on AI systems design projects.

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