Senior Microsoft AI Engineer - Copilot, Foundry & Power Automate
Fully remote senior role owning a startup's Microsoft stack: building AI assistants and agents with Copilot Studio and Microsoft Foundry, robust Power Automate workflows, and M365/Azure integrations, while administering the environment, managing projects, mentoring, and coordinating outsourced developers.
Compensation
Not disclosed
Location
Kampala, Uganda
Work setup
Remote
Seniority
Senior
Employment
Full time
Experience
Not specified
Category
Ai engineering
Posted
Skills
acceptance-criteria
agentic-ai
ai
analytics
api
authentication
automation
azure
azure-application-insights
azure-devops
azure-monitor
ci-cd
cloud
data-modeling
dataverse
devops
entra-id
github
github-actions
javascript
microsoft-copilot
power-automate
power-platform
power-query
powerapps
powerbi
powershell
python
sharepoint
solution-design
sql
typescript
vault
Must have
Production delivery experience with Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry, and Power Automate
Practical understanding of Microsoft 365 Copilot in business workflows
Experience building AI agents/assistants connected to business data, tools, and APIs
Experience evaluating AI-generated answers and actions, including unreliable output
Strong knowledge of Power Automate cloud flows, connectors, expressions, approvals, troubleshooting
Experience integrating SharePoint, Teams, Dataverse, Microsoft Graph, or comparable platforms
Working knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID, application permissions, authentication, secure credential handling
Ability to write and review supporting code (Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, or PowerShell)
Proven experience independently administering a company's Microsoft environment
Hands-on experience configuring Power Platform solutions connected to GitHub
Experience with GitHub Actions or comparable CI/CD workflows
Understanding of environment separation, managed/unmanaged solutions, dependencies, connection references
Previous responsibility for technical project delivery with planning and stakeholder communication
Experience leading developers, mentoring, or coordinating distributed contributors
Ownership of technical problems and communicating business impact through to verified results
Ability to work independently and prioritize within a limited startup budget
Nice to have
Microsoft AI/automation delivery in a startup or consulting environment
Building permission-aware retrieval workflows with documented knowledge sources
Experience with Power Apps, Azure services, SQL databases, or Azure DevOps
Azure API Management AI gateway experience (auth, model routing, usage limits, cost control)
Experience with Azure Key Vault, Azure Monitor, Application Insights, Azure AI Search
Power BI reporting: Power Query, data modelling, DAX, scheduled refresh, row-level security
Connecting reporting and analytics to operational workflows and business decisions
Replacing fragile workflows with easier-to-operate solutions
Coordinating outsourced implementation while retaining internal technical ownership
Effective use of AI development tools while avoiding unnecessary complexity
Full description
Location: 100% Remote Employment: Full-time, long-term position Start date: As soon as possible after selection and agreement Salary: Startup-aligned starting compensation, based on experience and responsibilities, with substantial growth potential during the first few years
**About Us **We are a startup developing AI-powered solutions, business applications, integrations, and automations across different products and internal initiatives.
Microsoft technologies are an important part of our work. We want to turn business requirements into useful AI assistants, reliable workflows, and connected systems that deliver measurable results.
Our delivery model combines internal ownership with outsourced development. We are looking for someone who enjoys hands-on implementation, can coordinate external specialists, and wants to help build and lead a growing team.
**The Role **We are seeking an experienced Microsoft AI Engineer with strong practical experience in Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry, and Power Automate.
You will take responsibility for projects from requirements discovery and solution design through implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing improvement. Your work will span different business processes and products.
Alongside technical delivery, your responsibilities may include project management, team leadership, mentoring, and coordination of outsourced contributors. You should be comfortable discussing business priorities, organizing delivery, reviewing technical work, and helping colleagues improve.
**Ownership of Our Microsoft Environment **You will independently manage and develop our company's Microsoft environment across Microsoft 365, Azure, and Power Platform. This includes taking ownership of configuration, access management, operational reliability, governance, documentation, and cost control.
We need someone who can identify issues, propose practical improvements, coordinate implementation, and verify that our systems continue to work reliably. You should be comfortable combining hands-on technical work with project management, team leadership, mentoring, and coordination of outsourced specialists.
**Key Responsibilities
Build and maintain AI assistants and agents using Microsoft Copilot Studio and Microsoft Foundry.
Identify practical opportunities for Microsoft 365 Copilot and help teams use it effectively.
Connect AI solutions to relevant business knowledge and systems while respecting permissions and data boundaries.
Develop Power Automate workflows with reliable validation, exception handling, monitoring, and recovery.
Integrate Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Dataverse, Microsoft Graph, external APIs, and other business systems.
Implement custom connectors or supporting code where the project requires them.
Evaluate AI output quality, grounding, failure behavior, latency, and operating costs.
Establish appropriate human review and approval steps for consequential automated actions.
Independently administer our Microsoft 365, Azure, and Power Platform environments, including users, groups, roles, application registrations, permissions, and service connections.
Configure and manage GitHub-connected Power Platform solutions, including repositories, authentication, source control, branching, reviews, and deployment workflows.
Manage the solution lifecycle across development, testing, and production, including solution dependencies, environment variables, connection references, release verification, and recovery procedures.
Maintain secure application identities, credentials, and access configurations with clear ownership and appropriate permissions.
Monitor platform health, investigate failures, maintain operational documentation, and control licensing and cloud expenditure.
Translate business requirements into clear tasks, delivery milestones, and verifiable acceptance criteria.
Manage project scope, priorities, dependencies, risks, and stakeholder communication.
Coordinate outsourced developers, review their deliverables, and maintain clear ownership.
Mentor colleagues through practical demonstrations, reviews, and knowledge transfer.
Keep solutions maintainable and proportionate to the problem and startup budget.
**Required Qualifications
Demonstrated experience delivering production solutions using Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry, and Power Automate.
Practical understanding of Microsoft 365 Copilot and its use in business workflows.
Experience building AI agents or assistants connected to business data, tools, and APIs.
Experience evaluating AI-generated answers and actions, including handling unreliable or unsupported output.
Strong knowledge of Power Automate cloud flows, connectors, expressions, approvals, and troubleshooting.
Experience integrating SharePoint, Teams, Dataverse, Microsoft Graph, or comparable business platforms.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID, application permissions, authentication, and secure credential handling.
Ability to write and review supporting code or scripts, for example in Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, or PowerShell.
Proven experience independently administering a company's Microsoft environment, with responsibility for reliable operation and ongoing improvement.
Hands-on experience configuring and managing Power Platform solutions connected to GitHub.
Practical experience with GitHub Actions or comparable CI/CD workflows for Microsoft solutions.
Strong understanding of environment separation, managed and unmanaged solutions, dependencies, connection references, and environment-specific configuration.
Previous responsibility for technical project delivery, including planning and stakeholder communication.
Proven experience leading developers, mentoring colleagues, or coordinating distributed contributors.
The ability to take ownership of technical problems, communicate their business impact, and carry improvements through to a verified result.
Ability to work independently, explain technical decisions clearly, and prioritize within a limited startup budget.
**Especially Valuable Experience
Delivering Microsoft AI or automation projects in a startup or consulting environment.
Building retrieval workflows with documented knowledge sources and permission-aware access.
Working with Power Apps, Azure services, SQL databases, or Azure DevOps.
Experience with Azure API Management and its AI gateway capabilities, including authentication, model routing, usage limits, monitoring, and cost control.
Experience with related components such as Azure Key Vault, Azure Monitor, Application Insights, and Azure AI Search.
Experience building and maintaining Power BI reports and dashboards, including Power Query, data modelling, DAX, scheduled refresh, workspace permissions, and row-level security.
Experience connecting reporting and analytics to operational workflows and business decisions.
Replacing fragile workflows with solutions that are easier to operate and maintain.
Coordinating outsourced implementation while retaining internal technical ownership.
Using AI development tools effectively and recognizing when generated solutions introduce unnecessary complexity.
**Growth, Leadership and Compensation **This is an opportunity to join early and help shape our Microsoft AI and automation practice.
Initial compensation will reflect our startup budget, your experience, and the agreed responsibilities. As the business develops and your contribution grows, we aim to offer substantial salary progression during the first few years.
Strong contributors may progress into roles such as Microsoft AI Team Lead, AI & Automation Lead, Solutions Architect, or Head of AI & Automation. Progression will depend on demonstrated results, leadership capability, company growth, and financial capacity. We will discuss expectations and progression milestones openly during recruitment.
**What We Offer
A fully remote role with a long-term perspective.
Ownership across AI implementation, automation, and project delivery.
The opportunity to mentor colleagues and build a distributed team.
Close collaboration with startup leadership.
Varied projects with practical business impact.
Significant potential for career and compensation growth as the company develops.
**Remote Working Arrangement **Our remote working setup includes a time-tracking tool that records mouse-click and keyboard-activity metrics and captures screenshots. This working arrangement will be explained during recruitment.
Applicants should be comfortable working with this setup.
**How to Apply **We are looking to fill this core role promptly and will review applications as they arrive. Applying early provides an opportunity to discuss how you could help shape our AI and automation work.
Please submit your CV and a short overview of:
A Copilot Studio or Microsoft Foundry solution you delivered, your contribution, and how you verified its results.
A Power Automate workflow you implemented and how you handled failures.
A Microsoft environment you administered and GitHub-connected solutions you managed.
A project you managed or a team you led or mentored.
Your experience coordinating outsourced contributors.
Your earliest start date and salary expectations, taking our startup stage into account.
Public links and anonymized examples are welcome. Please do not share confidential information or credentials.