Overview:

We are seeking a Principal Product Manager to help shape the future of the Windows Developer ecosystem. This role sits at the intersection of product vision, software engineering, and rapid experimentation, and is focused on exploring and validating new ideas that meaningfully improve how developers build on Windows.

You will operate in highly ambiguous problem spaces, defining new opportunities, shaping product direction, and bringing ideas to life through working code prototypes. This role is deeply developer-community-driven: you’ll spend meaningful time listening to and engaging with the Windows developer community (open-source maintainers, enterprise developers, toolmakers, and indie creators), co-creating solutions, and translating real-world feedback into clear product bets. You’ll use that ongoing community signal—needs, pain points, and emerging workflows—to influence strategy and accelerate learning across the organization.

Why This Role Matters
This role helps ensure Windows is investing in the right developer experiences before scale. By combining vision, handson building, and deep developer empathy, you will help shape the future of how developers experience Windows—and influence product direction across the Windows Platform & Developer organization.‑on building, and deep developer empathy, you will help shape the future of how developers experience Windows—and influence product direction across the Windows Platform & Developer organization.

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- Identify and explore new product opportunities across the developer ecosystem, informed by developer needs, emerging workflows, and ecosystem trends.
• Define and articulate product vision and scenarios that influence direction across teams and stakeholders.
• Rapidly build high‑fidelity prototypes, demos, and proof‑of‑concepts to explore ideas, validate assumptions, and make future experiences tangible.
• Use code as a primary mechanism for learning, communication, and alignment, not just implementation.
• Define and prototype agentic experiences on Windows—using coding agents and agentic tooling to explore new interaction patterns, establish platform expectations, and deliver end-to-end developer experiences where agents are a first-class part of the workflow.
• Partner with product, engineering, design, and research leaders to drive early‑stage discovery and incubation.
• Lead and participate in developer research and validation, using prototypes to elicit high‑quality feedback and insights.
• Synthesize research, experimentation, and technical exploration into clear product narratives, tradeoffs, and recommendations.
• Advocate for developer‑first design principles and help raise the bar for developer experience across Windows.
• Influence without authority, helping multiple teams converge around shared vision and high‑confidence bets.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree AND 8+ years experience in product/program management or software developmentOR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Significant experience building software, with the ability to write high‑quality prototype code using modern languages, frameworks, and tooling.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a product leader, shaping vision and direction in ambiguous problem spaces.
• Proven track record of using user research and validation to inform product decisions and strategy.
• Deep understanding of developer workflows, tools, and ecosystems, with strong intuition for what developers’ value and enjoy.
• Background in product incubation, innovation teams, or zero‑to‑one exploration.
• Ability to communicate complex ideas clearly through prototypes, demos, and technical storytelling.
• Experience building with coding agents or agent-enabled development workflows, and translating those capabilities into polished, developer-facing agentic experiences on Windows.

#W+DJOBS

Product Management IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 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 $188,000 - $304,200 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.