About the role

Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. On our Federal team, you'll help a U.S. government customer operate and modernize some of their most mission-critical systems, in secure, classified environments where reliability is not optional.

This role centers on deep, hands-on Exchange Server expertise centered around customer needs to sustain, secure, and modernize their messaging infrastructure. If you like solving hard problems close to the metal, working alongside a cleared team, and being the person others turn to, this role was built for you.

You will act as a trusted technical advisor: designing architecture, leading proofs of concept, unblocking teams, and guiding the customer from first pilot to full production.

You must have deep expertise with Exchange, experience delivering in cleared environments, and an active security clearance.

Location
This is a hybrid role based in Suitland, MD. You will split your time between on-site work with the customer and remote/other work, so you should live within regular commuting distance of Suitland.

Microsoft is on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. Growth mindset encourages each of us to lean in and learn what matters most to our customers, to create the foundational knowledge that enables us to make customer-first decisions in everything we do. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world. You can help us achieve our mission.

What you'll do

Architecture Design and Deployment
Lead technical projects end to end, providing architecture design and hands-on guidance through both pre-sales and implementation.
Run pilots and proofs of concept to validate a design, then move the customer from pilot to production by tying the work to clear business outcomes.
Identify and resolve technical blockers, from configuration changes to sample code and escalations, and route non-technical issues to the right owner.
Apply sound governance to surface and reduce technical and business risk, define what success looks like, and hold the work to a high-quality bar.

Drive Customer Success
Build realistic timelines, agree on the metrics that define success, and set a regular cadence to report progress across people, process, and technology.
Partner with the sales team to spot new opportunities and take ownership of key milestones within each engagement.
Translate technical capability into business value the customer can act on, and connect them with the right people, ideas, and resources.
Act as the voice of the customer, carrying feedback and blockers back to Microsoft product and engineering teams to help shape future products.

Scale Customer Engagements
Engage customer technical decision-makers directly, drawing on your understanding of their business, industry, and priorities.
Lead technical discussions and set clear rules of engagement (roles, boundaries, and hand-offs) across extended teams.
Help plan and prioritize team capacity so engagements land where they have the most impact.
Work with partners where it helps, acting as the bridge between partner and internal teams and reviewing partner-led work for quality.

Technical Leadership
As our platform continues to evolve, this role will increasingly focus on cloud-native messaging, Microsoft 365, and AI-driven technologies.
Experience with Exchange Online, Microsoft 365, Copilot, or Azure is a plus.
Build your own learning plan, close skill gaps early, and deepen your expertise by working with customers, partners, and peers.
Share knowledge generously: mentor others in your technology area, contribute to internal and external technical communities, and act as a role model for the architect community.
Run workshops, webinars, and briefing sessions to educate customers and colleagues on Microsoft solutions.
As our platform continues to evolve, this role will increasingly focus on cloud-native messaging, Microsoft 365, and AI-driven technologies.
Experience with Exchange Online, Microsoft 365, Copilot, or Azure is a plus.

Required/Minimum Qualifications

Cloud Solution Architecture IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $106,400 - $203,600 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 $137,600 - $222,600 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.