Director Security Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft in Redmond, WA

Overview
Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS)-Core accelerates customer outcomes and business growth. By uniting product, engineering, marketing, sales, customer success, and partners around a common customer mission, we help customers realize value faster and turn innovation into measurable business impact. Through deep technical expertise and differentiated go-to-market execution, we win competitively, capture market share, and scale repeatable growth motions. We differentiate through value creation - delivering world-class, AI-powered customer experiences that accelerate adoption, strengthen loyalty, and create sustainable competitive advantage, driving growth that outpaces the market.
The Customer & Commercial Success (CCS) organization, an organization within MCAPS-Core, is the connected engine that turns Microsoft’s commercial strategy into execution at scale — making it simpler and faster for the field to win for every customer, in every segment, region, and role. The organization brings together planning, landing, execution excellence, services portfolio and delivery, and field activation across Account Team Unit (ATU), Special Teams Unit (STU), and Customer Success Unit (CSU) to accelerate customer value, drive growth, and strengthen the end-to-end experience across every customer moment.
We are seeking a Director Security Cloud Solution Architect with experience in a senior management role, who has led enterprise-level security teams and contributed to security strategy and innovation within complex organisations. The candidate should demonstrate technical proficiency, operational effectiveness, business understanding, and experience delivering security transformations.
They will manage a team of Americas Security Architects in a customer-facing role, overseeing security relationships and strategy between customers, Microsoft security field teams and Security Product Group (PG)/ Engineering (Eng). The team handles all aspects of security engagements from architecture review to escalation management, liaising with PG and Engineering contributing to product improvement and roadmap. We are looking for someone with experience building technical, customer-facing security teams.
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.
Candidates who live within 50 miles of Microsoft's Redmond campus will be required to work in the office 3 days per week.

Responsibilities
Drive Strategic Business Impact & Customer Growth: Hold teams accountable for delivering operational excellence, managing risk, resolving complex customer challenges, and identifying opportunities to expand Microsoft solutions, consumption, adoption, security, resilience, and AI-driven transformation.
Lead Executive Customer Engagement & Advocacy: Guide teams in building trusted relationships with senior technical and business leaders, influencing customer strategy, driving successful outcomes, resolving escalations, and serving as the voice of the customer to shape Microsoft products and services.
Build High-Performing Teams & Organizational Capability: Develop managers and technical leaders through coaching, accountability, and empowerment, fostering a culture of continuous learning, talent development, collaboration, and strong execution aligned with business priorities.
Provide Enterprise-Wide Technical Leadership & Industry Influence: Direct teams in driving innovation, thought leadership, intellectual property development, framework improvements, and industry engagement while representing Microsoft’s technology vision and enabling scalable, repeatable success across customers and the broader organization.

Qualifications
Required/minimum qualifications
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business, Liberal Arts, or related field AND 8+ years experience in cloud/infrastructure technologies, information technology (IT) consulting/support, systems administration, network operations, software development/support, technology solutions, practice development, architecture, and/or consulting
OR equivalent experience.
3+ years people management experience, including managing consultant practice managers, technical sales managers, and/or technical architect managers.
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 in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business, Liberal Arts, or related field AND 12+ years experience in cloud/infrastructure technologies, information technology (IT) consulting/support, systems administration, network operations, software development/support, technology solutions, practice development, architecture, and/or consulting OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business, Liberal Arts, or related field AND 8+ years experience in cloud/infrastructure technologies, technology solutions, practice development, architecture, and/or consulting OR equivalent experience.
Professional Skills
6+ Years Experience in Security technical sales, customer success, engineering, or consultative delivery.
5+ Years Experience in people management and building and leading high performing teams
Experience in driving change management, transformation, and technical adoption.
Key to success - Collaboration. Ability to generate trust, build alliances, and orchestrate interdisciplinary teams to the benefit of customers.
Communication. Thought leader with executive presence, including the ability to hold Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) level discussions, exceptional interpersonal, verbal, written and presentation skills.
Understanding of cybersecurity fundamentals (threat landscape, attacker techniques, defense strategies)
Proven ability to map the customer’s needs to technical solutions.
Technical understanding of Microsoft Security Solutions and of competitors.
Empathy, curiosity, and desire to constantly improve, acquire new skills and drive for results.
Demonstrated technical leadership in previous roles.
Able to quickly resolve customer escalations by coordinating appropriate resources as needed.
Certification in one or more of the following technologies preferred: Microsoft Security architecture, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) or equivalent
Experience working in a customer-facing role
Experience leading technical projects, teams, or functions
Technical Certification in Cloud (e.g., Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google, security certifications)
Technical
Breadth of knowledge across Microsoft Cloud security domains– SIEM & XDR, Purview- Data Security. Endpoint Security, Cloud Security, and Identity – Mandated Expertise/experience focused on:
Microsoft Sentinel
Microsoft Defender For Cloud (MDC)
Defender for Endpoint (MDE
Defender for Office (MDO)
Defender for Identity (MDI)
Defender for Applications
Purview Data Security – Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) and Information Rights Management (IRM)
Identity- Entra ID
Breadth of technical security experience and knowledge, with depth and Subject Matter Expertise in one or more of the following domains:
SIEM and Cloud Security Analytics
Security Operations Center (SOC)
Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
Data Security – Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) and Information Rights Management (IRM)
Identity

Cloud Solution Architecture M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $130,900 - $251,900 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 $165,600 - $272,300 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: Azure Data Factory, Architecture, Analytics, Active Directory, AI, Science, Data Science, Data, Computer Science, Communication
Common previous titles: Cloud Solution Architect, Senior Solution Architect, Security Engineer, Vice President Engineering, Tech Support Engineer, Senior Security Researcher, Senior Intelligence Analyst, Software Engineer, Senior PM