Space Planner Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Overview
Microsoft AI Experiences (AIX) builds the end-user AI experience at Microsoft, spanning Copilot, Search, Browser, Content, Commerce, and Monetization. AIX is roughly 7,000 people working from core hubs in Redmond, Mountain View, and New York City, engineering centers across India and China, and established teams in Vancouver, San Francisco, Barcelona, Cairo, and other locations. The organization moves quickly, re-teams often, and depends on physical space that keeps groups co-located and working shoulder to shoulder.
We are seeking an experienced Space Planner to own space and occupancy planning for AIX end to end. This is a standalone role inside AIX, not a position on a central real estate team. You will be the single point of accountability for the AIX workplace footprint and the primary relationship owner with Global Workplace Services (GWS), the team that provides real estate transaction expertise, portfolio strategy and planning, capital investment management, workplace strategy, and facility operations for Microsoft's corporate office portfolio globally. Your scope covers approximately 7,000 employees and contingent staff across AIX's core hubs and its retained non-core sites in North America, Europe, and Asia.
We are looking for an energetic, analytical, and highly accountable individual contributor to be the Space Planning Manager for AI Experiences, based in Mountain View, CA or Redmond, WA. You will partner directly with AIX leaders to understand where teams are heading and translate that into seat-level plans, neighborhood designs, and move sequencing. You will work alongside GWS portfolio planning managers, regional occupancy planners, and site space administrators to secure and defend the space AIX needs, reconcile the data behind allocation decisions, and keep our plans aligned with Microsoft's real estate strategy, workplace standards, and cost governance.
At Microsoft, our mission (to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more) guides how we partner with customers to deliver trusted, impactful solutions. With a growth mindset culture, we innovate responsibly and measure success by shared progress with our people, teams, and customers. Join us to do meaningful work that changes the world and helps shape what's next for everyone.
Responsibilities

• Own immediate and multi-year space and occupancy plans for AIX, translating headcount forecasts, reorganizations, hiring plans, and business priorities into seat-level allocation plans across the organization's global footprint.

• Serve as the single point of contact between AIX leadership and Global Workplace Services, representing AIX requirements in portfolio planning cycles and translating GWS strategy, standards, and constraints back to AIX leaders in terms they can act on.

• Establish and maintain a trusted source of truth for AIX headcount, seat allocation, and utilization; reconcile differences between organizational data, allocation models, and observed occupancy, and use that evidence to make the case for what AIX actually needs.

• Design and maintain team neighborhoods and adjacency plans that keep engineering, product, design, research, and business teams co-located, and rework them as the organization changes shape.

• Plan and execute moves, restacks, and consolidations across Redmond, Mountain View, New York City, and other AIX sites, including sequencing, stakeholder alignment, communications, and day-of coordination with occupancy planners and space administrators.

• Build growth and flex capacity into every plan so the organization can absorb hiring, integrations, and frequent re-teaming without a full replan or a disruptive move.

• Partner with AIX leadership on location strategy, including core hub concentration, minimum population thresholds for non-core offices, and recommendations to consolidate or wind down sites.

• Define and secure specialty space requirements, including labs, secure and restricted areas, hardware and device testing space, studio and content space, and leadership areas.

• Own the tools and reporting behind the work, including MS Space, Artemis, and seat allocation models, and deliver recurring occupancy, capacity, and utilization reporting to AIX leadership.

• Lead cross-functional v-teams spanning AIX business operations, HR, Security, IT, employee experience, and GWS to deliver space outcomes on schedule and to a defined standard.

• Uphold Microsoft space governance, cost governance, and workplace standards, balancing AIX business needs against Microsoft's broader financial responsibilities.

• Provide clarity and options when navigating ambiguity, competing leadership requests, and trade-offs, and manage escalations to a decision rather than a stalemate.

• Embody our culture and values

Qualifications
Required/Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Real Estate, Project Management, Architecture, Data Analytics, or related field, AND 4+ years of experience in space or occupancy planning, corporate real estate, workplace strategy, or business operations OR 7+ years of equivalent experience.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Real Estate, Project Management, Architecture, Data Analytics, or related field AND 7+ years of space planning, occupancy planning, corporate real estate, or workplace strategy experience OR 10+ years of equivalent experience.

• Experience planning space for a large, fast-moving technology or engineering organization, including frequent reorganizations, rapid headcount growth, and shifting leadership priorities.
• Experience working directly with headcount, seat, and utilization data, including building and maintaining allocation plans in spreadsheets or a dedicated planning system.

• Experience as the business-side counterpart to a central corporate real estate or facilities function, translating business needs into space requirements and negotiating allocation on behalf of an organization.

• Comprehend, analyze, and interpret complex documents and data, demonstrating advanced analytical and quantitative skills to model capacity, cost, and trade-off scenarios that inform executive decisions.

• Familiarity with Microsoft workplace systems and planning processes such as MS Space, Artemis, occupancy planning cycles, and seat allocation models, or equivalent CAFM/IWMS tooling elsewhere.

• Experience planning across multiple geographies and time zones, including international sites with local workplace norms and constraints.

• Apply long-term, strategic perspective and forecasting, demonstrating solid organizational skills to develop and prioritize plans at both strategic and execution levels.

• Exhibit solid communication and influencing skills to present information clearly to senior leaders and respond effectively to sensitive or contested issues.

• Drive solutions and lead effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, with a continuous improvement mindset and a passion for optimizing space and elevating the employee experience.

Business Management IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $97,600 - $188,400 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 $125,000 - $206,400 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
Business Management IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $116,900 - $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 $148,400 - $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.