The game industry, the fastest growing sector of the entertainment industry, is being heavily disrupted by cloud technology. Virtually all game developers are evolving to deliver Games-as-a-Service, centered on continuous content delivery and player engagement, and require accelerated production environments, agile back-end infrastructure, and live ops services. 

Microsoft is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation to cloud-based gaming, thanks to assets like our first party studios (Halo, Minecraft), our Xbox gaming platform, and Azure, the fastest-growing business in Microsoft’s history.  

The Gaming Vertical team leads Microsoft’s business selling tools and services to game creators. Our mission is to empower game creators to realize their dreams. We have a startup culture in which we dream big, move fast, and work directly with our customers. Our aspiration is nothing short of delivering the world’s best cloud platform for game developers across the entire gaming life cycle, from development, to testing and deployment, to ongoing operation and monetization. 

Responsibilities

The Director of Strategy and Operations for the Gaming Vertical will oversee the day-to-day- operations of the Gaming Vertical, working very closely with the GM and the rest of the team to align on vision, strategy, and execution. 

The ideal candidate will deeply understand the Game Industry on a global basis, and in particular how the shift toward GaaS is pushing game developers and publishers to transform their businesses. You will need to be an expert at influencing other teams outside your direct control to align to our shared vision. Working directly with both customer and internal leaders alike, this role presents an opportunity to have a tangible impact on the future of the game industry, as well as fuel our customers’ success. 

In this role you will: 

• Oversee efficient and effective operations of the gaming vertical team. 
• Help set the team’s strategy, and prioritize the projects we take on. 
• Lead our regular business planning processes (revenue, budget, goals, long-range planning) and run our rhythm of business, including weekly and quarterly meetings. 
• Set up and administer programs to encourage usage and adoption of Azure and other Microsoft solutions, working with other teams at Microsoft such as MS for startups, ID@Azure, and our Xbox Managed Partners program. 

• Identify and fill gaps in our commercial go-to-market motion, reducing the friction involved in closing large gaming deals with strategic customers. 
• Maintain dashboards to monitor and track health of our business. 
• Author presentations, white papers, and thought leadership pieces for use internally and externally. 
• Drive data analysis to identify industry opportunities and help align resources across the company. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or higher) required; in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field preferred. 
• 6+ years of relevant experience in the game industry, with exposure to creators of all sizes, from small indie studios up to massive AAA developers. 
• 4+ years of experience in an execution-focused role, either in business operations, or in product management role. 
• Excellent at interfacing with customers, and a strong desire to help them succeed. 
• A structural, repeatable approach in solving complex problems. 
• The ability to communicate to senior decision makers in a clear, compelling way, and to drive decisive action in partnership with others in a large, matrixed organization. 
• Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements into programs and services that meet customer needs, then experience owning and delivering results from those programs. 
• Exceptional communication, leadership and influencing skills. Ability to work independently in highly ambiguous environments, with both technical and business groups internally and externally. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to collaborate with internal/external stakeholders in an inclusive manner.  

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. 

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

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