{"id":2717266,"url":"https://alion.io/job/microsoft-principal-architect-data-ai","title":"Principal Architect - Data & AI","company":{"id":18,"name":"Microsoft","domain":"microsoft.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/microsoft","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Eightfold","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":93,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":28,"computed_at":"2026-10-16T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"AI/ML","role_family":"AI/ML","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Hyderabad, India","Bengaluru, India","Noida, India"],"countries":["IN"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":26000,"max_usd":67000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":34},"experience_years_min":22,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"AI Agents","optional":false},{"name":"AIOps","optional":false},{"name":"CI/CD","optional":false},{"name":"LLM Guardrails","optional":false},{"name":"Platform Engineering","optional":false},{"name":"RAG","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-16T13:44:56Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-16","last_verified_at":"2026-10-17T02:14:05Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":92,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":92},"description":"OverviewMicrosoft Industry Solutions - Global Center Innovation and Delivery Center (GCID) delivers end-to-end solutions by enabling accelerated adoption and productive use of Microsoft technologies. An organization of well over 1000+ exceptional people, GCID presents a significant opportunity for highly experienced services professionals to shape enterprise transformation at scale.\nThe Principal Architect is a senior executive level technical leader accountable for enterprise-wide architecture strategy, AI first delivery execution, and business outcomes across complex, multiyear customer engagements. This role serves as a trusted advisor to CEO, CIO, CTO, CDO, and executive leadership teams of customers, influencing digital, data, and AI transformation agendas.\nIn an AI first GCID organization, Principal Architects are expected to shape vision, define guardrails, and lead execution of intelligent, scalable, and secure solutions that directly drive business value, resilience, and innovation. The ideal candidate demonstrates exceptional technical breadth, strategic depth, executive presence, and the ability to operate confidently in ambiguous, high impact environments.\nResponsibilities\nAI First Delivery Leadership\nDefine and drive enterprise scale AI first delivery strategies, aligned to customer business vision and executive priorities.\n\nLead end-to-end technical accountability for mission critical, multiprogram engagements, ensuring strategic alignment, architectural integrity, and measurable business outcomes.\n\nEstablish delivery models that scale intelligent automation, autonomous systems, and AI native execution across programs and portfolios.\n\nAct as the executive technical authority during escalations, guiding recovery, transformation, or exit strategies for high-risk or underperforming engagements.\n\nPartner with CIO/CTO/CDO leadership to balance innovation, governance, cost, security, and speed at enterprise scale.\n\nEngineering Excellence\nSet enterprise architecture standards and technical guardrails across data, AI, platform, and engineering disciplines.\n\nEnsure production grade quality through architecture reviews, performance benchmarks, security controls, observability, and operational readiness.\n\nChampion modern engineering practices including DevSecOps, platform engineering, CI/CD, SRE, and AI assisted development.\n\nFoster a culture of technical rigor, accountability, and continuous evolution across architect and engineering communities.\n\nInnovation & Thought Leadership\nShape forward-looking architecture visions for customers, leveraging emerging AI, data, and platform capabilities.\n\nEngage in executive level discussions to influence technology roadmaps, operating models, and innovation investments.\n\nLead creation of reusable assets, reference architectures, accelerators, and IP that scale across customers and industries.\n\nRepresent GCID as a thought leader in architecture, AI adoption, and largescale transformation.\n\nClient Engagement & Solutioning\nAct as a primary technology advisor to CEO/CIO/CTO leadership, aligning architecture decisions with long term business strategy.\n\nTranslate business imperatives into enterprise grade architecture, blueprints and execution roadmaps.\n\nBuild trusted relationships with senior customer stakeholders, enabling influence at boardroom and executive steering committee levels.\n\nGuide customers through complex tradeoffs involving cost, risk, performance, compliance, and speed to value.\n\nTeam Management & Mentorship\nMentor senior architects and engineering leaders, shaping next generation technical leadership.\n\nLead cross functional, cross geography architect communities to scale best practices and innovation.\n\nInspire a culture of ownership, excellence, and outcome driven execution.\n\nQuality & Compliance\nEnsure all solutions meet enterprise security, compliance, reliability, and Responsible AI standards.\n\nProvide executive oversight to design governance, quality gates, and production readiness for critical workloads.\n\nOther\nEmbody our culture and values\n\nQualifications\n22+ years of experience in software, data, and platform engineering with 15+ years in enterprise architecture and technical leadership roles.\n\nProven track record of influencing and delivering transformation outcomes at CXO level.\n\nDeep expertise in modern delivery methodologies and gotomarket acceleration models.\n\nExceptional executive communication, stakeholder influence, and decision-making skills.\n\nBachelor's degree in engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent experience; advanced certifications preferred.\n\nAreas of Expertise\nEnterprise Data Architecture & Modern Platforms\nDefine and govern enterprise wide data and analytics architectures aligned to business strategy.\n\nPartner with customer CIO/CDO organizations on modernization, platform consolidation, and cost optimization.\n\nDrive accountability for operational stability, scalability, and long term sustainability.\n\nData Engineering & Large Scale Data Processing\nExecutive oversight of largescale batch and streaming architectures across cloud and hybrid environments.\n\nDefine standards for performance, reliability, and operability of data platforms.\n\nChampion DataOps and AIOps adoption for continuous optimization.\n\nDatabase Platforms, Performance & Capacity Engineering\nProvide architectural guidance on transactional, analytical, and AI-driven database workloads.\n\nEnsure cost efficient, predictable performance at enterprise scale.\n\nAI First Data Engineering & Unify Your Data\nDefine strategies for agentic AI driven data platforms that scale responsibly.\n\nInfluence governance, explainability, and humanintheloop adoption at enterprise level.\n\nDrive operationalization of autonomous data systems in production environments.\n\nAI & Advanced Analytics Enablement\nShape architecture for largescale AI adoption including RAG, AI agents, and inference platforms.\n\nEnsure AI systems meet executive expectations for trust, transparency, performance, and value realization.\n\nEmbed Responsible AI and governance by design patterns into all solutions.\n\nSolutioning, Presales & Technical Leadership\nLead executive level solutioning during complex deals, renewals, and strategic pursuits.\n\nInfluence multiyear transformation programs from vision through execution.\n\nAct as a trusted advisor to internal leadership on strategic accounts and investments.\n\nFrontier Consulting Skills\nEnterprise full stack and platform thinking across data, AI, application, and cloud layers.\n\nLead rapid ideation, pilots, and scaled production deployments with executive sponsorship.\n\nOutcomesdriven execution focused on measurable business impact.\n\nComfortable operating with CEO/CIO/CTO stakeholders in high stakes environments.\n\nPersonal Attributes\nExecutive presence with ability to influence at boardroom and CXO levels.\n\nStrategic thinker with strong technical depth and business acumen.\n\nDecisive, resilient, and comfortable navigating ambiguity.\n\nPassionate about innovation, scale, and continuous learning.\n\nThis position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.\nMicrosoft 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. 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