> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt. # Principal Technical Program Manager - FDE Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/bf09a83a2196432f Microsoft posts a principal FDE role to plan what the customer deploys first in US · city not listed, at $142,800–$304,200 base, level with the staff+ FDE median of $225,000 across 388 postings with pay. Principal TPM in Microsoft's Frontier Company Engineering team, embedding with strategic customers to lead complex technical programs end-to-end. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026. - [Microsoft](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/microsoft) First seen Aug 25, 2026 · open on Microsoft careers as of Nov 8, 2026 **$142,800–$304,200** *annualized* US · city not listed Full-time Principal TPM in Microsoft's Frontier Company Engineering team, embedding with strategic customers to lead complex technical programs end-to-end. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2Fbf09a83a2196432f&placement=top) - [View posting at Microsoft](https://apply.careers.microsoft.com/careers/job/1970393556939562) Free. Upload your resume once, see why each FDE role fits, and get introduced only when you say so. ## At a glance ### Posted base pay $143K–$304K Level with the median Midpoint $224K · median $225K This job $143K to $304K. Staff+ FDE postings, 388 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $197K to $262K, median $225K. [Compare pay across all Microsoft postings](https://nextmove.md/fde/salary/microsoft) ### The work Plans what the customer deploys first Balance **Mostly pre-sales or support** Project stages 1. Pre-sales (not covered) 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation 4. Operations (not covered) Travel **Up to 25%** - **Coding**: No coding - **Builds for**: External customers - **Level**: Staff+ - **Role**: Technical lead ### What they ask for Experience - **6+ years** engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development - **3+ years** managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects - **12+ years** engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development *Preferred* - **8+ years** managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects *Preferred* - **1+ years** reading and/or writing code *Preferred* - **1+ years** customer-facing technical roles *Preferred* Background - **Software engineering** - **Solutions and customer engineering** - **Implementation and data engineering** Visa - **No visa sponsorship** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting asks for 3+ years. How many do you have? The posting reads as a staff-level role. What level are you at now? The posting says no visa sponsorship. Do you need one? Which of these have you used in production? Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent. [What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths) ## Conditions - **Location**: US · city not listed - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Visa sponsorship**: Not available - **Travel**: Up to 25% - **Pay**: ## More like this [Farmers Insurance](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/farmers-insurance) ### [AI Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/9acb27f5c4c0c274) US · city not listed Hybrid 2w ago $108,375–$205,750 [BetterUp](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/betterup) ### [Staff Product Manager, Forward Deployment](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/5fba1ee621bbcb82) Austin, TX · New York, NY · +1 more Hybrid 2w ago $180,000–$250,000 [OpenAI](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/openai) ### [Deployment Lead, FDE- NYC](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/e0edcda2c3365d2e) New York, NY Hybrid 6w ago $230,000–$294,000 - [Other jobs at Microsoft (9)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/microsoft) ## The job description from Microsoft ### Overview In the Microsoft Frontier Company Engineering team, you won’t just build software; you’ll deliver real outcomes for some of the world’s most complex organizations. We are a global team of world-class engineers who have been working in a Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) model for more than a decade, embedding directly within customer teams to solve their toughest challenges, side-by-side, and shipping production-ready solutions in days, not months. As a **Principal Technical Program Manager**, you will embed with strategic customers to lead complex technical programs, owning the full customer journey from problem definition through delivery and driving measurable business outcomes. You’ll work in small, multidisciplinary crews alongside engineers, data scientists, and designers, operating with high autonomy to turn ambiguous problems into shipped solutions. Our work is powered by AI, applying the mindset and tooling across the entire development lifecycle to move from idea to production in days while maintaining the highest standards of security, quality, and trust. This role offers the opportunity to: - Lead complex technical programs from problem definition through to delivered outcomes - Drive decisions that directly influence business strategy and customer outcomes - Collaborate with leading global organizations across industries - Apply the latest advancements in AI and engineering workflows to deliver value at scale 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 - Embed with strategic customers to lead complex technical programs with high autonomy, aligning business needs with engineering solutions across AI, cloud, and data. Take ownership of the customer journey end-to-end, from problem definition through co-engineering delivery to measurable business outcomes. - Apply AI assisted engineering practices as a daily operating mode: use AI tools across the full software development lifecycle to accelerate requirements-to-specs, generate high-quality engineering artifacts from customer context, and drive continuous flow of value from business need to production. - Operate fluently in engineering tooling (e.g., VS Code, GitHub, AI agents) as primary work surfaces for planning, documentation, and technical program leadership. Validate AI-generated outputs with domain expertise to maintain quality at speed. - Navigate ambiguity in customer environments with self-direction and high ownership. Make technical and program decisions with incomplete information, proactively identify opportunities and manage risks, providing data-driven recommendations to stakeholders. - Champion and cultivate reusable solution patterns, open-source assets, and engineering playbooks that scale impact beyond individual engagements. Contribute to the broader engineering community through knowledge sharing and best practices. - Partner with multi-disciplinary engineering teams (software engineers, data scientists, designers) to evaluate, design, and deliver AI-powered cloud solutions side-by-side with customer engineers. Give key stakeholders data-driven recommendations based on identified risks and tradeoffs. ### Qualifications Required/minimum qualifications - Bachelor's Degree AND 6+ years experience in engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR equivalent experience. - 3+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects. Other Requirements - Microsoft is unable to sponsor a work visa for this role due to the nature of the role’s job duties Additional or preferred qualifications - Bachelor's Degree AND 12+ years experience engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR equivalent experience. - 8+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects. - 1+ year(s) of experience reading and/or writing code (e.g., sample documentation, product demos). - 1+ years of experience in customer-facing technical roles (e.g., consulting, solutions engineering, field engineering, or similar). - Experience with AI/ML technologies, cloud architecture, data engineering, and using AI tools and workflows in creating software engineering artifacts. - Enjoy travel and are comfortable with travel up to 25% Technical Program Management IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $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.** [View posting at Microsoft](https://apply.careers.microsoft.com/careers/job/1970393556939562) ## About Microsoft Microsoft sells cloud infrastructure, productivity software, and AI tools to enterprises and consumers globally, anchored by Azure, Office 365, and the OpenAI partnership. 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