Responsibilities
- Write and edit across formats — brand campaigns, product and UX copy, scripts, naming, taglines, and executive communications — with a voice that stays consistent across all of them
- Partner with Strategy and product teams to make sure creative concepts are grounded in a clear, defensible point of view before language is finalized
- Shape story at the product and campaign level, helping build the narrative arc behind a product or feature launch, not just the copy that sits inside it
- Partner closely with design and art direction to make sure language and visuals are developed together, not language dropped in after the fact
- Define and maintain the voice for AI Experiences, building the tone, vocabulary, and language principles that keep work sounding like it belongs to one studio, even across dozens of contributors
- Build and maintain voice and language guidelines — writing the documentation and standards that let writers, designers, and partner teams apply the voice consistently without you in the room
- Stay hands-on with the craft — personally drafting headlines, scripts, and copy under deadline, not only briefing and reviewing the work of others
- Translate complex AI concepts into language that feels human, clear, and compelling — making technical ideas legible without flattening them
- Stay genuinely plugged into culture — language, meme culture, music, entertainment — so the work reads as current rather than corporate
- Share and stand behind language and narrative choices with the Brand Writing lead, the Creative Director, senior leadership, and cross-functional partners
- Mentor and give feedback to other writers and creatives in the studio, raising the bar on language craft across the team
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- 3+ years proven writing or content design experience AND a certification, degree, or training in English, Writing, Human-centered Design, Literature, or related field OR equivalent experience.
- 1+ year(s) project leadership experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 8+ years of professional writing experience, including senior or lead writing roles at an agency, in-house brand/creative studio, or comparable environment
- Both agency and in-house experience, ideally you understand how voice work gets made under agency pressure-testing and how it has to hold up at in-house scale and speed
- Experience creating voice, tone, or brand language guidelines — you've built documentation that other writers and teams use
- A portfolio that shows real range — brand voice and campaign work alongside more functional writing like UX copy, scripts, or naming
- A strong point of view on visual craft, even though writing is your primary discipline, you can sit in a design review and contribute meaningfully
- A track record as a strong partner to both strategy and design — you don't default to one side or the other, and you can move fluidly between a strategy conversation and a design crit
- The ability to write in multiple voices without losing the underlying brand DNA — knowing when a moment calls for restraint versus boldness
- Real cultural fluency — genuine engagement with music, entertainment, internet culture, or adjacent creative communities
- Strong presentation and communication skills — comfortable talking through language choices with senior leadership, including the Brand Writing lead and Creative Director
- Experience translating technical or complex subject matter into clear, resonant creative writing
- Comfort working in a large, matrixed organization while protecting the integrity of the studio's voice
- Experience writing for AI or emerging-technology products specifically
- A personal creative practice — publishing, music, screenwriting, a newsletter, or similar — that signals a genuine relationship with language beyond the day job
- Experience writing for experiential or live formats (events, keynotes, installations) in addition to digital and print
Writing IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $160,200 - $261,000 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.
Skills Required
- 3+ years proven writing or content design experience and a certification, degree, or training in English, Writing, Human-centered Design, Literature, or related field, or equivalent experience
- 1+ year project leadership experience
- 8+ years of professional writing experience, including senior or lead writing roles at an agency, in-house brand/creative studio, or comparable environment
- Agency and in-house experience (understand agency pressure-testing and in-house scale and speed)
- Experience creating voice, tone, or brand language guidelines and documentation
- Portfolio that shows range: brand voice, campaign work, UX copy, scripts, or naming
- Strong point of view on visual craft and ability to contribute in design reviews
- Track record as a strong partner to both strategy and design
- Ability to write in multiple voices while maintaining brand DNA
- Real cultural fluency with music, entertainment, internet culture, or adjacent creative communities
- Strong presentation and communication skills for senior leadership engagement
- Experience translating technical or complex subject matter into clear, resonant creative writing
- Comfort working in a large, matrixed organization while protecting studio voice
- Experience writing for AI or emerging-technology products
- A personal creative practice (publishing, music, screenwriting, newsletter, or similar)
- Experience writing for experiential or live formats (events, keynotes, installations)
Microsoft Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Microsoft and has not been reviewed or approved by Microsoft.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is presented as broadly competitive overall, with clear role/level/location variation and an emphasis on using posted ranges and band information for apples-to-apples comparisons.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are described as a standout, highlighted by a strong 401(k) match structure and immediate vesting, plus additional plan features for tax-advantaged saving.
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Parental & Family Support — Family-oriented benefits are portrayed as a meaningful strength, with substantial paid parental leave and added supports like back-up care and adoption/surrogacy assistance.
Microsoft Insights
What We Do
At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.
