Senior Microsoft AI Engineer

We are seeking a skilled Microsoft AI Engineer to join our fully remote startup team on a full-time, long-term basis. This role involves hands-on development and leadership in building AI-powered solutions, business applications, and automations using Microsoft technologies. You will manage projects end-to-end—from requirements gathering and design to deployment and continuous improvement—while coordinating with outsourced specialists and mentoring colleagues. The position offers a startup-aligned salary with significant growth potential and the opportunity to shape our AI and automation practice as the company evolves.

Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain AI assistants and agents using Microsoft Copilot Studio and Microsoft Foundry.
- Identify and implement practical uses of Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance business workflows.
- Integrate AI solutions with business data, systems, and APIs, ensuring compliance with permissions and data boundaries.
- Create robust Power Automate workflows featuring validation, exception handling, monitoring, and recovery.
- Connect Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Dataverse, Microsoft Graph, external APIs, and other platforms.
- Build custom connectors or supporting code as needed for project requirements.
- Evaluate AI outputs for quality, reliability, latency, and cost-effectiveness.
- Establish human review and approval processes for critical automated actions.
- Independently administer Microsoft 365, Azure, and Power Platform environments, managing users, permissions, configurations, and service connections.
- Configure and manage GitHub-connected Power Platform solutions, including source control, authentication, branching, and deployment workflows.
- Oversee solution lifecycles across development, testing, and production environments, managing dependencies and recovery procedures.
- Maintain secure application identities, credentials, and access controls with clear ownership.
- Monitor platform health, investigate issues, maintain documentation, and control licensing and cloud costs.
- Translate business needs into clear tasks, milestones, and acceptance criteria.
- Manage project scope, priorities, risks, and stakeholder communications.
- Coordinate outsourced developers, review deliverables, and maintain technical ownership.
- Mentor team members through demonstrations, reviews, and knowledge sharing.
- Ensure solutions remain maintainable and aligned with startup budget constraints.

Required Qualifications
- Proven experience delivering production solutions using Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry, and Power Automate.
- Practical knowledge of Microsoft 365 Copilot and its application in business workflows.
- Experience building AI agents connected to business data, tools, and APIs.
- Ability to evaluate AI-generated content, including managing unreliable or unsupported outputs.
- Strong expertise in Power Automate cloud flows, connectors, expressions, approvals, and troubleshooting.
- Experience integrating SharePoint, Teams, Dataverse, Microsoft Graph, or similar platforms.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID, application permissions, authentication, and secure credential management.
- Ability to write and review supporting scripts or code in languages such as Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, or PowerShell.
- Demonstrated experience independently administering Microsoft environments with responsibility for reliability and improvement.
- Hands-on experience managing Power Platform solutions connected to GitHub and using CI/CD workflows like GitHub Actions.
- Solid understanding of environment separation, solution dependencies, connection references, and environment-specific configurations.
- Experience in technical project delivery, including planning and stakeholder engagement.
- Proven leadership in mentoring, coordinating distributed contributors, and taking ownership of technical challenges.
- Ability to work independently, communicate technical decisions clearly, and prioritize within startup constraints.

Preferred Qualifications and Benefits
- Experience delivering Microsoft AI or automation projects in startups or consulting environments.
- Familiarity with building retrieval workflows using documented knowledge sources and permission-aware access.
- Knowledge of Power Apps, Azure services, SQL databases, or Azure DevOps.
- Experience with Azure API Management, including AI gateway features like authentication, model routing, monitoring, and cost control.
- Exposure to Azure Key Vault, Azure Monitor, Application Insights, and Azure AI Search.
- Skills in building and maintaining Power BI reports and dashboards, including data modeling, DAX, scheduled refresh, and security.
- Ability to connect reporting and analytics to operational workflows and business decisions.
- Experience replacing fragile workflows with maintainable, scalable solutions.
- Proven ability to coordinate outsourced implementation while retaining internal technical ownership.
- Effective use of AI development tools with an eye for avoiding unnecessary complexity.

This role offers full remote work with a long-term perspective, ownership of AI implementation and automation projects, mentoring opportunities, and close collaboration with startup leadership. Initial compensation aligns with startup budgets but includes substantial growth potential. Career progression paths include leadership roles such as Microsoft AI Team Lead, Solutions Architect, or Head of AI & Automation, depending on performance and company growth.

Our remote work setup includes a time-tracking system that monitors activity and captures screenshots; candidates should be comfortable with this arrangement. Early applications are encouraged to discuss how you can contribute to shaping our AI and automation initiatives.