Overview

This role is designed for a highly experienced Azure Data & AI Architect with a strong technical background and a proven track record working with Digital Natives and high‑growth Startups. The position sits within the Software & Digital Platforms (SDP) Customer Success organization and supports fast‑moving, product‑led companies across Europe North, Europe South, and the broader EMEA region.

You will work with digital‑native companies that are building and scaling cloud‑native SaaS platforms, modernizing their data foundations, and transforming their products to become AI‑native and agent‑ready. As a Senior Cloud Solution Architect, Data & AI, you will engage with some of the most innovative startups and digital platforms through unified and Microsoft‑funded engagements, helping them accelerate from early scale to global reach.

You will guide customers on designing, scaling, and operating modern data platforms and AI architectures on Azure, including the emerging AI agentic intelligence layer. This includes platforms such as Microsoft Foundry, Microsoft Fabric, Databricks, and a deep focus on scalable, globally distributed databases for new AI workloads, including Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Database services. You will support customers as they evolve from experimentation to production‑grade, AI‑driven systems aligned to their product vision and business growth.

This role spans Europe North, Europe South, and EMEA, offering flexibility in work location as part of a newly established international team. Within the Customer Success organization, we are looking for leaders with a strong passion for enabling startup velocity, platform scalability, and AI differentiation.

In this role, you will lead and mentor a technical team that enables customers to achieve their desired outcomes from investments in Microsoft Data & AI technologies. You will take a proactive approach to data architecture, AI readiness, performance, and scale, ensuring customers consistently realize value from their Data & AI and Azure investments. By leveraging the Cloud Adoption Framework, AI-First Data Platform Framework, and AI‑specific best practices, you will help customers architect and deploy secure, scalable, and AI‑ready data platforms.

Azure is the most comprehensive and flexible cloud platform, and this role focuses on enabling Digital Natives and Startups to adopt Data & AI at scale, driving innovation across some of the fastest‑growing software companies in Europe and EMEA. With over 17,000 employees worldwide, the mission of the Customer Experience & Success (CE&S) organization is to empower customers to accelerate business value through differentiated customer experiences that leverage Microsoft’s products and services, ignited by our people and culture. Come join CE&S and help us build a future where customers achieve their business outcomes faster with technology that does more.

• Responsibilities- You will develop relationships with key customer technical, product, and engineering leaders who drive long‑term Data & AI adoption within digital‑native organizations, enabling them to become advocates for modern data platforms and AI‑native product architectures. You will act as the Voice of the Customer, sharing insights and best practices with internal Engineering and Product teams to remove blockers and accelerate innovation.
• You will provide feedback and insights from customers and partners back to relevant Microsoft teams, including Product Groups, to enable continuous improvement across Data, AI, and agentic platform capabilities. You will deliver excellence by owning your committed pipeline and ensuring delivery in alignment with customer expectations.
• You will develop opportunities to drive Customer Success outcomes by working with technical decision makers to ensure they understand Microsoft’s Data & AI platform capabilities required to build, scale, and operate AI solutions, including the value proposition and how startups realize value from investments in Microsoft Fabric, Foundry, Azure Databases, and AI services.
• You will run Architectural Design Sessions to build implementation plans aligned to customer product roadmaps and technical environments. This includes designing lakehouse, real‑time analytics, vector‑enabled databases, and AI agent architectures, enabling secure and scalable data foundations, and preparing customers for rapid AI innovation.
• You will identify and resolve issues blocking go‑live of customer success projects by leveraging deep Data, AI, and database expertise, leading technical conversations that accelerate value realization while delivering all work according to Microsoft best practices and policies.
• You will demonstrate a self‑learner mindset through continuous alignment of individual skilling to startup and customer demands, contributing to IP creation, prioritizing IP reuse, and engaging in relevant communities to help customers accelerate their Data & AI transformation journeys.

Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business, or related field AND solid experience in Data, AI, and cloud platform technologies, including data engineering, analytics platforms, AI/ML solutions, distributed databases, and customer‑facing technical roles
OR
Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business, or related field AND solid experience in Data & AI architecture, platform design, and technical consulting
OR
Equivalent experience working in a customer‑facing role with a strong focus on Digital Natives, Startups, and modern Data & AI platforms

Extensive experience working on complex technical projects. Technical certifications in cloud, Data, AI, or security platforms (e.g., Azure or equivalent).

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.