Senior AI Platform Engineer, Microsoft 365 & Copilot (3 year LTE)

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 157,000 - 236,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

The Gates Foundation is seeking a Senior AI Platform Engineer to join the Productivity & Collaboration team within Global Technology Operations. You will design, build, integrate, govern, and operate AI-powered experiences for staff across Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Platform, and Azure AI services to improve information access, automation, and secure collaboration.

This hands-on role requires strong engineering judgment, experience with enterprise AI governance, and the ability

Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant experience in AI engineering or platform engineering.

Responsibilities

• AI Solution Engineering and Agent Platform Development.
• M365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, and Agent Governance.
• Power Platform and Low‑Code AI Engineering.
• M365 Data Readiness for AI.
• AI Platform Operations, Monitoring, and Cost Management.
• Architecture, Security, and Responsible AI Controls.
• Cross‑Functional Delivery and Technical Leadership.
• Continuous Improvement and Emerging Technology Evaluation.

Skills

AI engineering

Cloud engineering

Platform engineering

Microsoft 365 engineering

Power Platform engineering

Azure AI services

Microsoft Graph

Security & governance

Tools

Copilot Studio

Power Platform

Azure AI

M365 tools

Job description

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation‑paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

We are looking for a Senior AI Platform Engineer to join the Productivity & Collaboration team within Global Technology Operations.

Your Role

As a Senior AI Platform Engineer supporting Microsoft 365, Copilot, and AI‑enabled productivity technologies, you will design, build, integrate, govern, and operate AI‑powered experiences that improve how staff find information, automate work, create agents, and collaborate securely. This is a hands‑on engineering role with strong architectural judgment, focused on Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Platform, Azure AI services, Microsoft Graph, M365 data readiness, and enterprise AI governance controls. You will create reusable engineering patterns for agents, copilots, automations, knowledge sources, connectors, workflow orchestration, evaluation, monitoring, and lifecycle management. You will help define when solutions should use Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Platform, Azure AI, ChatGPT Enterprise, Claude Enterprise, or another approved platform, and you will ensure those choices align with data protection, security, compliance, cost, and operational requirements. At its core, this role bridges AI strategy, platform engineering, and staff experience. You will translate business needs into secure and supportable AI‑enabled solutions, bring clarity to emerging platform capabilities, reduce technical and governance debt, and help mature the foundation’s operating model for AI‑enabled productivity and collaboration. This role requires strong engineering execution, systems thinking, sound judgment, clear communication, and the ability to operate across a complex enterprise environment with evolving AI technology, governance expectations, and stakeholder needs.

What You’ll Do

• AI Solution Engineering and Agent Platform Development.
• M365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, and Agent Governance.
• Power Platform and Low‑Code AI Engineering.
• M365 Data Readiness for AI.
• AI Platform Operations, Monitoring, and Cost Management.
• Architecture, Security, and Responsible AI Controls.
• Cross‑Functional Delivery and Technical Leadership.
• Continuous Improvement and Emerging Technology Evaluation.

Your Experience

• 10+ years of relevant experience in AI engineering, software engineering, cloud engineering, platform engineering, Microsoft 365 engineering, Power Platform engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Hands‑on experience building, integrating, or operating enterprise AI solutions using large language models, retrieval‑augmented generation, semantic search, AI agents, prompt engineering, workflow orchestration, or AI‑enabled automation.
• Experience with Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Platform, Azure AI services, Azure OpenAI, Microsoft Graph, SharePoint Online, Teams, OneDrive, Entra ID, PowerShell, APIs, or related Microsoft cloud technologies.
• Experience designing secure data access patterns for AI‑enabled solutions, including permissions inheritance, least privilege, scoped connectors, identity management, auditability, DLP alignment, and information protection controls.
• Experience with Power Platform governance and ALM concepts, including environments, connectors, managed solutions, pipelines, Dataverse, service accounts, connection references, and citizen‑developer support models.
• Experience improving M365 data readiness for AI, including permissions cleanup, content lifecycle, search and discoverability, knowledge‑source curation, information architecture, retention, sensitivity labels, or data governance practices.
• Experience with AI evaluation and operational practices such as response quality testing, retrieval testing, prompt testing, hallucination reduction, monitoring, observability, feedback loops, latency, and cost optimization.
• Strong engineering judgment and documentation skills, including the ability to create reusable patterns, technical standards, architecture decision records, runbooks, and support procedures.
• Ability to translate business needs and governance requirements into secure, scalable, supportable technical solutions.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts, platform constraints, risks, and recommendations to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, influence without authority, build trust across diverse stakeholder groups, and drive clarity in a fast‑moving AI technology environment.
• Experience working across Information Security, Legal, Privacy, Records, Enterprise Architecture, data teams, engineering teams, vendors, and business stakeholders is preferred.

Preferred experience includes

• Microsoft certifications in Azure, Microsoft 365, Power Platform, Security, AI, or Architecture.
• Experience in regulated or complex enterprise environments.
• Experience with ChatGPT Enterprise, Claude Enterprise, Semantic Kernel, Azure AI Search, or similar agent and orchestration technologies.

First‑Year Success Looks Like

• AI engineering operating model is defined and adopted, with clear paths for self‑service, Interact consulting, complex engineering builds, production support, and escalation.
• Reusable engineering patterns, templates, and reference architectures are in place for Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Platform, Azure AI, connectors, grounding, evaluation, and secure agent lifecycle management.
• Agent and automation governance is operationalized from intake through retirement, including ownership, review criteria, environment strategy, sharing controls, monitoring, support expectations, and risk‑based escalation.
• M365 data readiness priorities are sequenced with TPM, engineering, Information Security, Legal, Privacy, Records, Enterprise Data and business partners, with practical improvements underway for permissions hygiene, content quality, discoverability, and oversharing risk.
• A small set of high‑value AI‑enabled productivity scenarios has moved from concept to sustainable production support, with documented value, adoption plan, support model, and clear ownership after launch.
• Usage, adoption, cost, risk, and platform‑health reporting is available to inform leadership decisions, prioritize demand, and show where AI is creating measurable business value.
• Runbooks and escalation paths are documented and exercised for AI‑related incidents, unsafe or low‑quality outputs, access issues, connector failures, new feature releases, and platform service changes.
• The broader Productivity & Collaboration team is stronger because reusable documentation, demos, code patterns, decision records, and knowledge transfer make future AI work less bespoke and more durable.

*Must have unrestricted work authorization in the country where this position is located. The Foundation does not provide immigration‑related sponsorship for this role. This includes direct company sponsorship and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g.: H‑1B, O‑1, L‑1, E, OPT, STEM‑OPT, CPT, TN, J‑1, etc.). #LI‑SC2

The salary range for this role is $157,400 to $236 USD. We recognize high‑wage market differences where our offices are located, in Seattle and Washington D.C. The range for this role in these locations is $173,100 to $259,7000 USD.

Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you have a disability or medical condition and need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process—such as an ASL interpreter, alternative interview format, or physical accessibility support—we’re happy to help. Please contact [e-mail] with the position number and a brief description of your accommodation needs. Requests will be handled confidentially.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices. All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity. Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, we work with partners to create impactful solutions so that people can take charge of their futures and achieve their full potential. In the United States, we aim to ensure that everyone—especially those with the fewest resources—has access to the opportunities needed to succeed in school and life.

Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Bill Gates and our governing board.