Senior Director, Solution Area Specialist-AI Business Solutions

Overview

As a Senior Director, Solution Area Specialist for AI Business Solutions within U.S. Professional Services, you will lead and develop a team of AI workforce solution specialists, helping customers improve employee productivity and transform how work gets done through Microsoft AI. As the Senior Director, Solution Area Specialist-AI Business Solutions you will connect customer priorities to practical solutions and guide customers from early exploration to secure adoption and measurable value.

You will work with executives at large, complex customers, including Global System Integrators, and coordinate with account teams, engineering, customer success, services, and partners. The role combines people leadership, strategic sales, partner development, and disciplined business management. You will also strengthen the team's AI and solution-selling capabilities and scale approaches that work across customers.

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

• Customer Engagement and AI Transformation
• Lead the team in building trusted relationships with customer executives and business decision makers, understanding their priorities, and connecting them to measurable outcomes.
• Serve as executive sponsor for priority customers and strategic opportunities. Help align stakeholders, resolve barriers, and advance customer decisions.
• Guide customers from AI exploration toward secure, governed adoption embedded in roles and workflows.
• Coach specialists to build business cases, demonstrate value, address governance and change-management needs, and define measures of success.
• Help customers realize value from Microsoft 365, Copilot, Copilot Studio, agents, and related secure AI productivity solutions.
• People Leadership and Team Development
• Set clear objectives, expectations, and operating rhythms aligned to business priorities.
• Coach, develop, and retain a high-performing team. Build capabilities in consultative selling, AI fluency, customer engagement, and commercial execution.
• Foster an inclusive culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and customer focus.
• Manage performance while investing in each employee's growth and development.
• Sales Strategy and Business Management
• Translate business priorities into customer strategies, qualified pipeline, opportunity plans, and measurable outcomes.
• Lead pipeline, forecast, and business reviews. Strengthen opportunity qualification, execution, and risk management.
• Use customer, market, adoption, and usage insights to prioritize opportunities and guide investment.
• Drive sustainable growth, competitive wins, adoption, usage, consumption, and expansion.
• Partner and Cross-Organizational Leadership
• Build and manage strategic relationships with large, complex customers and partners, including Global System Integrators.
• Coordinate account teams, solution engineering, customer success, services, and partners around clear customer outcomes and ownership.
• Bring technical, commercial, adoption, and partner resources into opportunities early, supporting a coordinated path from pursuit through deployment and value realization.
• Scale effective customer evidence and repeatable practices across the organization.
• Required/minimum qualifications
• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, Information Security, or related field AND 6+ years experience in technology-related sales or account management
• OR equivalent experience.

Other Requirements

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Candidates must have authorization to work in the United States that does not now or in the future require employer sponsorship

Additional or preferred qualifications

Master's Degree in Business Administration (i.e., MBA), Information Technology, Information Security, or related field AND 8+ years experience in technology-related sales or account management OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, Information Security, or related field AND 12+ years experience in technology-related sales or account management

OR equivalent experience.

6+ years of solution sales experience.

3+ years of people-management experience, with demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing teams.

Sales-management experience in a leadership capacity within the technology or professional services industry.

Experience in AI and/or SaaS, with a focus on business outcomes and business transformation.

Experience working with and supporting Global System Integrator customers and partners.

Experience managing strategic relationships with large, complex customers and partners.

Solution Area Specialists M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $133,000 - $222,700 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 $170,300 - $239,800 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.

Insights from previous hires

Top skills: Account Management, Business Development, Business, Consulting

Common previous titles: Manager Customer Success, Senior Solution Sales Specialist, Senior Director Digital Sales, Senior Director Solution Sales Specialist, Digital Specialist, Technical Program Manager II, Lead, Strategic Account Executive, Senior Project Manager, Events Director