Director, Governance & Technology Microsoft Digital Safety Unit

The mission of Microsoft’s Digital Safety Unit is to empower every user to have safe and trusted experiences across Microsoft’s consumer services. As digital safety becomes increasingly central to trusted technology—spanning devices, software, services, and generative AI—we are seeking a Director, Governance & Technology to provide strategic leadership, operational excellence, and technical enablement at enterprise scale.

In this role, you will shape and drive Microsoft’s digital safety governance model, risk and control framework, and operational rhythms. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team responsible for incubating technology and scaling processes to improve measurement, accountability and digital safety outcomes across Microsoft.  You will partner closely with digital safety specialists, lawyers, engineering leaders, product teams, and executives across the company to establish clear accountability, durable systems, and measurable outcomes that advance digital safety by design and regulatory compliance.

This role is ideal for a leader with both strategic vision and deep operational discipline—someone who can translate complex regulatory, technical, and organizational requirements into scalable frameworks across multidisciplinary teams that work in a highly matrixed, global environment.

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.

Governance, Risk, and Accountability

• Design, land, and continuously evolve a clear digital safety governance, risk, and control framework, aligned with the Microsoft Digital Safety Standard and broader enterprise risk management expectations.
• Drive clarity of accountability across a broad range of stakeholders, including accountable executives, engineering leaders, and operational owners, ensuring ownership is explicit and durable.
• Establish and maintain executive-ready governance rhythms, including reporting, escalation paths, and decision forums that enable timely, informed leadership action.
• Identify opportunities to align with other regulatory disciplines to drive cross-functional efficiencies  

Strategy, Measurement, and Maturity

• Lead delivery of measurement frameworks, maturity models, and performance indicators that assess and raise the bar on digital safety technical and operational compliance across Microsoft’s consumer portfolio.
• Translate business priorities—including consumer products, generative AI, and children’s access to technology—into durable digital safety strategies that scale across services and geographies.
• Partner with senior leaders to ensure insights and progress are clearly communicated and actionable within the rhythm of business. 

Technical and Operational Enablement

• Drive cross-division technical leadership initiatives that advance the future of digital safety across devices, software, applications, and generative AI features.
• Oversee core operational functions including incident management, operational effectiveness, governance execution, and risk and control assurance.
• Partner with engineering, product, legal, policy, and operations teams to embed digital safety into system design, development, and delivery. 

People and Culture

• Lead and grow a high-performing, inclusive team responsible for critical elements of Microsoft’s digital safety program.
• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability grounded in the belief that digital safety is foundational to Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. 

Partnership and Influence

• Serve as a trusted partner across Microsoft through consultation, training, education, and guidance, enabling teams to deliver trusted technology to consumers.
• Influence without authority in a highly matrixed environment, aligning diverse stakeholders around shared goals and outcomes. 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree AND 6+ years experience in engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR equivalent experience.
• 1+ years people management experience.
• 3+ years of experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree AND 12+ years experience engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR equivalent experien