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.

The Microsoft Strategy and Investment Optimization (MSIO) finance team is an exciting and fast-evolving team at the forefront of Microsoft’s Cloud-first strategy. This role is at the center of the Product Gross Margin Strategy  to help build great cloud, AI services while influencing business models, levers to continuously drive gross margin growth and accelerate path to north star goal.  As a crucial member of the team, you will also support long term bets and drive intelligence to keep Microsoft Cloud and AI ahead of competition, safeguarding shareholder interest.

We are looking for a Finance Director - AI Platform and Efficiency to enable a consistent, portfolio-based view and strategic approach to enable Microsoft’s goal to capture vast, long-lasting enterprise value by leading the AI platform wave. Role is at the center of the company’s vision to turn most advanced AI models into a computing platform in a structured way and critical to maximize Microsoft’s long-term AI growth and profitability.

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

• Oversee financial leadership and decision support to lead and drive long term efficiencies of the Microsoft AI Platform. Co-own and influence multi-year plan, focus, accountability, and incentives to accelerate gross margin expansion, unit cost reduction with clear state gate milestones.
• Own analytical frameworks, unit economic models, reporting insights and external benchmarks to define north star unit costs, for the AI platform. Accelerate platform scale, fungibility and utilization improvements to desired steady state. Influence leaders to develop engineering levers, execute while enabling feature, quality differentiation.
• Reduce platform unit costs and maximize return on invested capital by delivering leverage across the hardware, software, supply chain and infrastructure utilization. This includes driving benefit from new hardware generations in partnership with our vendors, software throughput improvements in partnership with OpenAI and other model providers.
• Effectively collaborate with leaders across multiple engineering orgs and Finance functions across the company with speed, depth, and rigor. Lead strategic financial and operational reviews, clearly communicate recommendations to executives.
• Manage and develop a talented, high performing team of individual contributors through application of our management philosophy of Model, Coach and Care.

Embody our Culture and Values 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Data Science or related field AND 8+ years experience in financial analysis, accounting, controllership or finance, or related field
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Data Science or related field AND 10+ years experience in financial analysis, accounting, controllership or finance, or related field
  • OR equivalent experience.
• · 1+ year(s) experience managing direct reports.

 Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in a High Tech and/or cloud, AI business focused on developing and driving cross-company strategy
• Experience in developing long-term, strategic growth plans
• Executive presence including communication and presentation skills with a high degree of comfort to large and small audiences
• Problem solving mentality leveraging internal and/or external resources
• Ability to operate in a dynamic, fast-moving environment while conforming to tight deadlines
• Propensity to learn and identify opportunities for improvement
• Has the ability to manage across organizational boundaries, influence others and build on the work of others
• Proven ability to partner, build trust, communicate with, and influence executives; ability to make the complex simple and influence through effective story telling

Financial Analysis M6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $129,200 - $273,400 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 $162,000 - $299,400 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until October 25th, 2024.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.