Prototyping Manager

Join the Advanced Prototyping Center, where imagination becomes reality.  You'll be the go-to partner for designers, engineers, and cross-functional teams who bring us their boldest prototyping ideas—and you'll help turn those ideas into groundbreaking designs, visual models, and physical prototypes.

Bring ideas to life. Collaborate directly with designers, engineers, and partners to translate early concepts into unique, innovative designs, visual models, and working prototypes. Own the big picture. Lead multiple high-impact projects spanning team programs, business groups, and product lines—while managing individual project budgets and contributing to capital equipment planning. Drive innovation.  Champion new ideas that reshape processes and best practices.   Be the expert others rely on.  Deepen your subject matter expertise across multiple prototyping specialties and use that influence to steer decisions that set your team up for success. Shape the strategy.  Partner with senior leaders in the model-making discipline to build business plans, gathering and incorporating input from your team along the way. Grow the next generation. Mentor team members across a wide range of techniques, sharing deep expertise from across the discipline. Build lasting partnerships.  Cultivate new relationships with external suppliers, leading the charge on model and project delivery and guiding project specifications from concept to completion. Lead people. Manage, develop, and inspire a talented team—driving employee growth, executing projects, and elevating performance. Why this role: This is your chance to lead at the intersection of creativity and engineering, where no two days—or two prototypes—are ever the same. If you thrive on solving hard problems, mentoring great people, and building things no one has built before, we want to hear from you. 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.

Business Strategy & Operations Leverages expertise and experience to provide perspective on the business and needs of the organization.  Solicits input from team members to incorporate into business operation planning, working with senior leaders within Model Making to develop plans. Cascades strategic direction and objectives to team members. Influences decisions to ensure success of their team. Implements strategies for streamlining work to allow team members to accomplish tasks with minimal difficulty and a high degree of expertise. Collaboration Works directly with designers, engineers, and other partners who approach the team with a prototyping idea. Interprets prototyping needs and communicates with key work partners about feasibility based on the intent of the proposed prototype, providing advice and suggestions to further enhance prototyping idea based on experience. Ensures understanding of finishing and assembly requirements. Works collaboratively across teams and with key work partners to provide updates, communicating any deviations or changes in planning or direction. Ensures team members are well informed in order to effectively deliver final prototypes and/or parts. Develops and implements strategies and procedures to encourage continuous communication both within the organization and with key work partners. Leads team to adopt and adhere to security best practices for internal and external data sharing. Avoids using unsecured email platforms to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with security standards. Innovation & Industry Trends Refines subject matter expertise across multiple specialties. Considers how the company could become a key