Overview
Commercial Engineering & AI (CEAI) partners closely with stakeholders to accelerate the transformation of Microsoft’s commercial business into a frontier organization. We bring together AI‑native engineering, modern platforms, and deep commercial insight to reimagine how work gets done - at scale and with impact. Our mission is to unlock new ways of operating through intelligent systems while creating the conditions for our teams to do the most meaningful work of their careers. If you’re excited to build, experiment, and shape the future of commercial execution with AI at the core, we invite you to apply.
Within CEAI, the Sales Planning & Commercial Incentives (SPCI) team turns Microsoft’s revenue strategy into seller reality. SPCI owns the end-to-end engineering of the planning-to-payout lifecycle — the platforms, tools, and user experiences that equip every Microsoft seller with the right coverage, clear targets, and timely, accurate compensation. As a Principal Product Manager Lead, you will build and lead a team of Product Managers who own this charter. You will set product vision and strategy across the planning-to-payout lifecycle, develop a high-performing PM team, and partner across engineering, business, and corporate functions teams to ship a composable, intelligent platform that sellers and planners’ trust.
#CEAIjobs
Responsibilities
**Team Leadership & Talent Development — **Build, lead, and mentor a team of Product Managers; provide coaching, career development, and clear performance management. Foster an inclusive, high-trust environment; grow high-potential talent; and set the operating rhythms that keep the team aligned and accountable.
**Product Vision & Strategy — **Own and evolve the long-term vision for the planning-to-payout lifecycle. Define the modular core primitives for our systems, and the contract-driven, composable architecture that enables the edge.
**Customer & Lifecycle Ownership — **Deeply understand the needs and use cases of sellers, regional sales operations teams, and corporate business owners. Drive trust and transparency as first-class outcomes: full payout traceability, durable and robust processes, and clean year-to-year transitions.
**Cross-Functional Influence — **Partner with engineering, data science, design, sales operations, finance, and HR to align technical direction with business goals. Influence without authority and unify partners around a clear vision and plan.
**Communication & Data-Informed Decisions — **Communicate strategy, progress, and risk to senior executives with clarity and data-driven narratives. Define and monitor the metrics that prove the system is winning including timeliness and accuracy of key sales compensation mechanisms, user trust, dispute rates and resolution time, manual toil, and business agility.
Embody our CEAI culture and values.
Qualifications
Required/minimum qualifications
Bachelor's Degree AND 8+ years experience in product/service/program management or software development OR equivalent experience.
1+ year(s) people management experience.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience leading large-scale, high-visibility programs with measurable business impact.
10+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects.
Presentation and analytical skills, using data to build persuasive narratives, guide decisions, and influence senior leaders.
3 years of people management experience.
Experience in commercial systems, including incentives and/or marketplaces.
Experience building composable, contract-driven platforms and/or AI-native, agentic products.
Hands-on leadership style with the ability to shift seamlessly between long-term strategic planning and day-to-day tactical execution.
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.**