Overview

We are seeking a senior, hands-on delivery leader to serve as the program's end-to-end Quality, Service Maturity, and Operations Assurance authority across a large-scale, multi-domain systems integration program.

This role is accountable not only for how solutions are planned, built, and released - but for how they perform, are supported, and continuously improved in production. The Senior Advisor, Program Quality & Service Assurance partners with Program Leadership, Engineering, Operations, and the PMO to ensure quality and maturity are embedded across the entire service lifecycle, from design through sustained operations.

This is not a traditional QA or audit role. The successful candidate will operate as an embedded program leader, actively shaping delivery and operational practices, intervening when risk emerges, and driving continuous improvement across applications, data platforms, IoT and sensor integrations, and a large multi-vendor ecosystem. The Senior Advisor should be able to demonstrate that they have successfully developed and implemented QA standards and procedures.

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

End-to-End Program Quality & Assurance (PMQA)

• Serve as the program's quality and service assurance authority across planning, build, release, and ongoing production operations.
• Develop, or enhance existing QA standards and process documentation that govern our delivery teams.
• Embed early in workstream planning to ensure quality, operability, and supportability are designed in - not retrofitted post-deployment.
• Define, apply, and enforce program-level quality and readiness gates covering:
  • Design and architecture fitness
  • Build and integration readiness
  • Test sufficiency and risk coverage
  • Operational readiness and support transition
  • Ongoing production stability
• Review and approve delivery, testing, cutover, and operational plans, providing clear go / no-go recommendations grounded in delivery and operational risk.

Production Operations & Continuous Improvement Accountability

• Maintain ongoing accountability for production quality, reliability, and service maturity of delivered solutions.
• Establish mechanisms to regularly assess production health, incident trends, availability, performance, and operational pain points.
• Partner with operations and engineering teams to drive root cause analysis, corrective actions, and structural improvements - not just incident resolution.
• Ensure lessons learned in production are systematically fed back into planning, design, and build practices.
• Promote consistency and maturity in how teams manage:
  • Incidents, problems, and change practices
  • Release quality in live environments
  • Support documentation and knowledge transfer
  • Service ownership and accountability models

Service Maturity Leadership

• Apply and evolve the Services Maturity Model as a living tool to evaluate readiness and effectiveness across build and operate phases
• Lead structured maturity and service health assessments across applications, platforms, and vendor-delivered services.
• Translate assessment results into actionable, prioritized improvement plans with clear ownership and measurable outcomes.
• Align maturity expectations across internal teams and subcontractors to ensure consistent service behavior in production.

Vendor & PMO Quality Governance

• Partner with the PMO to define and enforce delivery, operational, and quality expectations for subcontractors.
• Participate actively in vendor performance reviews, escalations, and remediation planning.
• Ensure vendor-delivered solutions meet not only functional requirements, but production support, operability, and service maturity standards before and after acceptance.
• Influence vendor behaviors by embedding quality and operational expectations into planning, execution, and acceptance criteria.

Testing, Observability & Operational Telemetry (Governance Focus)

• Validate that risk-based testing strategies appropriately address production scenarios, integration points, and failure modes.
• Ensure telemetry, monitoring, and observability practices support proactive production support and trend analysis - not just post-incident visibility.
• Maintain traceability from requirements and user stories through testing evidence, operational readiness, and production performance metrics.
• Use tools such as Azure DevOps and monitoring platforms to connect build-time decisions with run-time outcomes.

Other

• Embody our culture and values.

This role governs and validates testing and observability practices; it does not function as a hands-on QA automation or testing execution role.

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, Finance, Business, or related field AND 6 + years leadership experience in relevant area of business OR equivalent experience.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience leading or governing complex, multi-workstream technology programs, including responsibility for production operations and service quality
• Demonstrated experience in a program-level quality, service assurance, operations governance, or PMQA role.
• Experience both developing and successfully implementing QA standards and procedures.
• Proven ability to assess delivery and operational risk, challenge execution plans, and drive corrective action across engineering, operations, and vendors.
• Strong working knowledge of:
  • Software delivery lifecycle and operational support models
  • Incident, change, and problem management concepts
  • Testing, telemetry, and observability as enablers of production quality
• Exceptional stakeholder communication skills, with experience influencing executives, technical leaders, and external partners.
• PMP, ITIL, or equivalent service and program management certifications.
• Experience supporting production services on Azure and Microsoft platforms (Azure, Microsoft 365, Power Platform).
• Experience operating within public sector or regulated environments.
• Background working closely with PMOs managing large vendor portfolios and outsourced operations.

Additional Notes

This role is not responsible for standalone QA execution or test automation development. It is a program-embedded leadership position accountable for quality and service maturity across build and ongoing operations, with a strong emphasis on continuous improvement in production environments.

Technology Consulting IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $122,500 - $214,600 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 $154,500 - $231,700 per year.

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


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.