Senior Technical Program Manager

Do online social communities and console video games excite you? Do you want to build scalable websites and online experiences for some of the largest Xbox 360 gaming franchises? Microsoft Game Studios is looking for a senior program manager with a passion for video games and deep experience in building web sites & services. We have an ambitious task ahead of us and we need someone with strong drive and organizational skills to understand our customers’ desires & needs, cut through uncertainties, run the project running smoothly, and own the vision for our web/online strategy moving forward. A high degree of technical acuity is required for this position as we expect this program manager to work with developers and understand the scope of individual front-end and back-end features for the website. Accurate estimation of time, manpower, and cost is a core requirement. At the same time, this person will also need to direct a multi-disciplined team in an ‘Executive Producer’ role to achieve concrete results. This requires a keen ability to understand our customers’ and products’ needs over the coming years and work with key stakeholders to plan accordingly. Given the ‘startup’ nature of the team, the candidates must also be able to work in a self-directed manner and will likely need to fill multiple roles at the same time. RESPONSIBILITIESThe ideal candidate will demonstrate both an ability to focus on tactical execution in the short-term and on higher-level strategic planning for the long-term. Drive the vision, value proposition, and define roadmap, technical functional specs for a large-scale game-integrated website (with a focus on community-building) Interact with a diverse customer base around the world to gather and prioritize requirements Build specifications for both front-end and back-end functionality and content Drive architectural and design decisions Drive extensive cross-team as well as cross-functional collaboration (including Design, Art, Marketing, User Research, Dev) QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS Large-scale website deployment (API or product release management a plus) Experience running a 24/7 online service with committed SLAs Capacity & equipment planning at a global scale (multiple markets, geo-redundancy) Ability to work across disciplines (business development, marketing, art, development, etc.) to create a unified product vision; experience driving that vision for a platform, product, or service Strong organizational and coordination skills, especially across multiple teams and customers (account management experience a plus); ownership of complex features Ability to overcome ambiguity and establish strategic scope of an open-ended project Strong underlying technical skills combined with excellent problem-solving and design capability People management experience; polished written and verbal communication skills Capital expenditure estimation & budget approval Passion for videogames and social community building a definite asset Microsoft offers an excellent benefits package to full-time employees including medical, dental, vacation, employee stock purchase plan, and 401k, plus some great extras including: our 24-hour nurse line, stay fit program, product discounts, and paid infant care leave. All part of our commitment to our most important asset: our employees. For more information about life at Microsoft, please visit our careers website. Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer (EOE) and strongly supports diversity in the workforce. Key Words: technical program manager console video games social websites ;