Overview:

We are seeking a Senior Market Research Manager who will partner with business leaders to frame critical business questions and deliver insights that shape strategy and outcomes. This role partners with Microsoft’s AI Business Solutions and their mission to help every person and organization adapt to the new world of work. In this role, your responsibilities will span across the commercial Microsoft Copilot businesses. You will work on a diverse range of business challenges, collaborating with marketers to drive growth.

Our Research + Insights team is one of the largest and most innovative market research teams in the world and partners across the company’s core businesses. Our people are research professionals with a consultative approach who thrive on tackling significant business opportunities and influencing decision makers at all levels. We are intellectually curious, analytical, and persistent about sharing recommendations which are data-driven and reflect the voice of our customer. We are passionate about developing ourselves, our careers, and our profession. And above all, we strive to have a collaborative, inclusive, and transparent culture.

In this role, you will lead marketing‑focused research to understand the needs, motivations, and perceptions of business decision makers, IT leaders, and commercial end‑users to influence product and marketing strategy. You will operate as a trusted advisor to marketing stakeholders at all levels, using research, data, and judgment to influence priorities, direction, and outcomes.

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

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:

In this role, you will:

• Frame and address complex business questions, translating marketing and senior leadership’s needs into high‑impact research strategies, hypotheses, and programs.
• Partner closely with product marketing to influence strategy, positioning, and investment decisions through evidence‑based storytelling.
• Serve as a customer advocate, ensuring the needs and perspectives of key audiences consistently inform strategic priorities and decisions.
• Synthesize insights across diverse data sources (qualitative, quantitative, behavioral, social, and emerging AI‑enabled approaches) and translate them into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Lead research portfolios with strong judgment, determining where to go deep, how to leverage vendors and tools, and how to maximize business impact.
• Advance the practice of research by applying emerging AI tools and innovative methodologies to improve speed, rigor, and relevance of insights.
• Strengthen the Research + Insights organization through collaboration, prioritizing shared success, contributing expertise, engaging in cross‑R+I initiatives, and scaling learnings.
• Build domain expertise in commercial productivity products, audiences, and markets, serving as a go‑to thought partner for stakeholders.

Other:

• Embody our culture and values.

Qualifications:

Required/minimum qualifications

• 5+ years experience in data science, research, marketing or business-related roles OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Social Sciences, Statistics, or related field AND 4+ years experience in data science, research, marketing or business-related roles
• OR Master's Degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Social Sciences, Statistics, or related field AND 3+ years experience in data science, research, marketing or business-related roles.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• 7+ years experience in data science, research, marketing or business-related rolesOR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Social Sciences, Statistics, or related field AND 6+ years experience in data science, research, marketing or business-related roles
• OR Master's Degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Social Sciences, Statistics, or related field AND 5+ years experience in data science, research, marketing or business-related roles.
• 3+ years project management experience.
• 2+ years experience working with decision makers to define needs and scope research to answer questions.
• 2+ years creating content that conveys a simple, clear message.
• Experience partnering with product, marketing, or business decision makers to define research needs, scope work, and guide tradeoffs.
• Experience managing research workstreams end to end, including vendor collaboration and prioritization across multiple efforts.
• Experience in a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods as well as a variety of data sources (telemetry, social, secondary, etc.).
• Compelling storytelling skills, with experience creating clear, compelling narratives that drive alignment and action.
• Familiarity with emerging tools and AI‑enabled approaches in research and analysis.

Market Research IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $106,400 - $203,600 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 $137,600 - $222,600 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

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.