Frontier Industry Advisor, Manufacturing and Mobility - Japan

AI-led transformation is reshaping every industry in the world. Across automotive, mobility and transportation, customers have moved beyond prioritizing individual AI use cases and are now deploying AI transformation at scale — reinventing how they design, build, move and service, with human-and-agent teams at the center of the operating model.

Microsoft Frontier Company is where that work happens. Frontier Company brings Microsoft’s deep industry expertise together with Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) and our engineering studios into a single, agile motion that co-builds agentic solutions with our most strategic customers. Our Automotive, Mobility and Transportation team leads that motion for the world’s automakers, suppliers, and rail, air and logistics operators: defining each customer’s Frontier opportunity, shaping the business outcomes that matter, and driving them through to production. It is no longer about one software solution; it is about co-building a connected, secure, scalable agentic platform — and feeding what we learn back into Microsoft’s product roadmaps.

Our team culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world. We also strive to have fun!

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.  

If you have a passion for customer success and want to be part of the greatest digital revolution, we want to hear from you

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The Industry Advisor (IA) is Microsoft Frontier Company’s senior industry voice in our most strategic automotive, mobility and transportation accounts. Operating at CxO level across a small number of pinned Strategic 500 (S500) customers, the IA is a genuine subject matter expert in the Automotive, Mobility and Transportation industries and acts as the industry leader on a customer-centric account team — building the trust that allows Microsoft to co-build with the customer rather than sell to them.

The role owns the agentic-platform transformation end to end. The Industry Advisor defines the customer’s Frontier opportunity and the outcomes it will deliver, creates and qualifies the opportunity, and leads it through the Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) motion to customer value realization. The IA orchestrates; FDE and the Industry Studios build. Success is measured in delivered business outcomes and revenue in the assigned accounts, using Microsoft’s cloud, AI and data technologies — pipeline is a leading indicator, not the goal.

The role partners closely with the account team, the FDE and Industry Studio teams, the worldwide industry sales community and our partner ecosystem — reusing high-value agentic workflows across accounts and sharing customer references and case studies that bring Microsoft’s industry transformation stories to life.

• Lead the agentic-platform transformation in assigned S500 accounts — define each customer’s Frontier opportunity, facilitate envisioning and ideation sessions, and develop multi-horizon roadmaps tied to measurable business outcomes.
• Ignite, shape, and secure market-making business partnerships by building senior CxO and business-executive relationships and establishing a strong Microsoft footprint in each assigned account.
• Drive account-based revenue by creating, qualifying and landing Frontier and FDE opportunities across the account, defining the industry plays that support them, and carrying them through to customer value realization.
• Lead and orchestrate customer engagement in partnership with the account team and the FDE and Industry Studio teams — aligning early on business objectives, bringing FDE in as soon as an opportunity is identified, and moving engagements to triage-ready quickly.
• Co-innovate from intake to production — prototype agentic solutions with the studios, then turn high-value workflows into reusable patterns, thought leadership and best practices that other accounts and colleagues can adopt.
• Collaborate with the external partner ecosystem (e.g., business leaders, GSIs, ISVs) on client and partner planning and on industry-specific strategies that add credibility and depth.
• Shape the buyer’s narrative and amplify thought leadership internally and externally — clarifying priorities and trade-offs, and building Microsoft’s Frontier credibility, brand and mindshare in the industry.

Embody Microsoft’s culture and values by modeling a growth mindset, operating with start-up agility, contributing to others’ success, and delivering impactful results that build on collective ideas and efforts

• 10+ years Automotive, Mobility and Transportation Industries domain expertise (required)
• Experience in Product Engineering and Manufacturing (required)
• Business-level or higher proficiency in both Japanese and English is required.
• Expertise (10+ years) working in business roles at a company in the Automotive, Mobility and Transportation industries (preferred)
• Significant (10+ years) industry solution selling experience, including outcome-based or consultative selling to CxO stakeholders (preferred)
• Industry specific sales or consulting position within an IT Consulting company (preferred)
• Business development and sales skills, including demonstrated experience shaping AI or agentic transformation programs (preferred)
• Market development skills.
• Strong executive presence.
• Ability to work across multiple organizations and a proven track record of collaborating with partners, customers, and engineering or delivery teams.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent required.

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.