MS Copilot AI Engineer

MS Copilot AI Engineer (US – Remote) 

What to expect when you join Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary

Team members at Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary have a lot in common while also being part of a rich and varied group of contributors, creating a distinct and thriving culture. Chief among our commonalities is a desire for growth and a shared unity of purpose in our professional lives. We believe that through diverse perspectives, challenging the status quo and rewarding action, we accelerate innovation and drive growth – for our clients, for ourselves and for our communities.

The professional services landscape continues to evolve. For Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary, this means we have an opportunity to further cement our leadership position in this industry and continue to grow our organization in increasingly exciting ways. This growth is meaningful for every team member at our company because larger companies simply see more interesting client opportunities and can attract impressively talented individuals like you. Through a dedicated focus on key business priorities and intentionally creating a rewarding employee experience, Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary has developed into a highly regarded provider of professional services and a sought-after employer of choice.

Do you want to work with other skilled and agile practitioners who thrive on challenge and growth? We believe everyone has untapped potential. That’s why we lead with vision and act fast, pairing deep expertise with practical solutions. Our teams cut through complexity and deliver real impact. It's our hope that you find more than just a job. At Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary, you'll find optimism, clear insights and genuine warmth, without egos.

Are you ready to grow with us?

Position summary

 You will serve as the technical and strategic lead for the deployment, governance, and optimization of Microsoft’s Copilot Chat, 365 Copilot, as well as other AI tools within a federal agency. This hybrid role combines enterprise architecture, AI governance, and hands-on engineering to deliver a secure, compliant, and mission-aligned AI platform. You’ll work across IT, cybersecurity, legal, and business units to ensure that Copilot and related AI services are fully integrated, operationally sound, and are driving measurable productivity gains across the agency.

What will you do in this role?

Architecture & Strategy

• Lead the end-to-end design and rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI Foundry across a secure government tenant
• Architect AI infrastructure including Microsoft Graph grounding, web grounding, plugin extensibility, and telemetry integration
• Evaluate and integrate third-party AI plugins and connectors in accordance with federal security standards
• Align AI platform capabilities with agency mission goals and bureau-specific needs

Governance & Compliance

• Develop and enforce AI governance policies, including responsible use, data boundaries, and risk mitigation
• Ensure compliance with federal frameworks such as FedRAMP, FISMA, NIST AI RMF, and agency-specific directives
• Collaborate with legal, cybersecurity, and privacy teams to manage ethical and regulatory considerations

Engineering & Operations

• Administer and optimize Copilot services, plugins, and Graph-based integrations
• Implement secure access controls, role-based permissions, and data protection mechanisms
• Monitor AI performance, usage telemetry, and system health across bureaus
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues related to AI services and integrations

Enablement & Adoption

• Drive Copilot adoption through training, prompt libraries, and tailored use cases
• Partner with business owners to identify AI opportunities and deliver measurable productivity improvements
• Maintain technical documentation, support channels, and user-facing resources
• Report on AI usage, adoption metrics, and ROI to leadership

What do you need to succeed in this role?

• U.S. Citizenship is requied
• Must have active an active Public Trust government clearance or higher. 
• 10+ years of experience in enterprise architecture, cloud engineering, or AI platform deployment, Azure GCC and MSFT FedRamped solutions.
• Deep expertise in Microsoft 365, Azure AI, Microsoft Graph, associated APIs and Copilot extensibility
• Proven success in infrastructure governance, risk management, and operational support
• Expertise in PowerShell, Azure CLI or other tools used for scripting and automation.
• Strong communication skills across technical and executive audiences
• Experience in both government and commercial environments preferred

Abilities
 

Technical focus areas

• Grounding & data access: Configure web grounding and Microsoft Graph grounding (Graph connectors, indexing scope, ACL mapping) to ensure least‑privilege access to SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and line‑of‑business repositories. Additionally, there will likely be the need to support other FedRamped, AI solutions available in the marketplace, and the ability to understand and expand utilization of MSFT Copilot products as needed.
• Extensibility: Support Copilot Studio/Teams extensions as applicable; document integration patterns and guardrails.
• Security & monitoring: Enable auditing, logging, and alerting across Microsoft 365/Entra; integrate with Log Analytics and SIEM/SOAR.
• Data protection: Implement Microsoft Purview (Sensitivity Labels, DLP, eDiscovery), retention, and auditing aligned to government requirements.

AI Policy & Governance (Government Context)

• Draft and operationalize acceptable use, data classification/handling, human‑in‑the‑loop requirements, red‑teaming, incident response, and model safety boundaries.
• Align controls to Zero Trust principles and frameworks relevant to the environment (e.g., NIST 800‑53/171, FedRAMP baselines).
• Establish lifecycle governance for prompts, connectors, plugins, and data sources (change control, reviews, recertification).

API Access to Copilot (Plugins/Connectors/Extensions)

• Design and secure API endpoints and app registrations (OAuth 2.0, Entra ID) for Copilot extensibility.
• Implement Graph and LOB connectors with correct permission scopes (delegated vs. application) and enforce conditional access/MFA where appropriate.
• Build telemetry for API usage, errors, latency, and throttling; define SLOs and operational runbooks.

Adoption, Training, and Support

• Create admin and end‑user enablement (guides, quick starts, office hours).
• Define support tiers, SLAs, and escalation paths; maintain knowledge base and runbooks.
• The ability to educate other team members on AI prompt generation, to enable better customer support.

Nice to Haves

Preferred Experience

• Familiarity with federal IT security and compliance frameworks
• Experience with plugin development, secure API integration, and telemetry analysis
• Background in change management, user enablement, and cross-functional collaboration

In compliance with this state’s pay transparency laws, the midpoint of the salary range for this role is $180,000. This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as final offer amount may vary based on factors including but not limited to experience and geographic location.
 

In addition, specific skills/experience required are as follows:

• Values driven – You embody and model absolute integrity and servant leadership and you have a bias for action and continuous innovation.
• Uncompromising problem solver – You see opportunities in every business challenge and can develop, articulate and implement solutions.
• Collaboration – You are a relationship builder across all levels of the organization and across all business units.
• Instills trust – You do what you say, without ego, and you follow through on commitments consistently and credibly.
• Impact & influence – You are relentlessly focused on making a difference and can gain support for ideas, proposals and solutions. You get others to act, with or without formal authority, to advance initiatives and objectives.

About Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary

Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary offers the public and private sectors a diverse platform of professional services across consulting, technology and compliance. Highly specialized and hands-on teams deliver integrated solutions rooted in deep industry experience. Our approach is strategically and thoughtfully designed to help our clients, teams and communities accelerate success. 

Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary has approximately 2,000 team members and operates across North America, EMEA and APAC. 

Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary Total Rewards

Our team members enjoy expansive benefits ranging from competitive compensation and insurance options to wellness programs and a flexible time off policy, to name only a few. Sikich also takes pride in prioritizing team members’ health, total wellbeing and time spent with family, friends and in the pursuit of personal goals, hobbies, and endeavors.

Some examples of our many benefits:

• Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary maintains a Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy. We encourage every full-time employee, as your role permits, to utilize paid time off (personal time, mental/physical health care, vacation, sick leave, etc.). Waiting for time off to accrue is common at other companies. At Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary, you do not have to wait for this benefit to kick in. FTO is activated on your first day with our organization.
• Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary will also recognize paid holidays during the year and strives to permit employees to have time off the last week of the calendar year when client and project work permits. 
• Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary offers a comprehensive wellness program to engage, challenge and empower team members to take responsibility for their wellbeing. Activities can be tracked through our wellness provider to obtain gift cards and other rewards.

We also offer:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Health, dental, vision, life, and accident/death/disability insurance options
• HSA employer contribution
• Nine (9) paid holidays annually.
• A robust paid Parental Bonding Leave program covering birth, adoption, and foster children.
• 401(k) with employer contributions
• CPA bonus with four (4) paid exam days & four (4) paid study days.
• Tuition reimbursement
• Generous employee referral bonus program
• Client referral bonus program
• Pet insurance
• FORCE – Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary community volunteer program enabling each team member to use up to four hours of paid time annually to volunteer and make a difference in their local communities.

Want to learn more? Visit our Careers website or Glassdoor profile.

Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V

Sikich currently practices in an alternative practice structure in accordance with the AICPA Professional Code of Conduct and applicable law, regulations, and professional standards. Sikich CPA LLC is a licensed CPA firm that provides audit and attest services to its clients. Sikich LLC has a contractual arrangement with Sikich CPA LLC under which Sikich LLC provides Sikich CPA LLC with professional and support personnel and other services to support Sikich CPA LLC’s performance of its professional services, and Sikich CPA LLC shares certain client information with Sikich LLC with respect to the provision of such services. 

 *Official correspondence will come from a Sikich.com email address and applicants/candidates are invited to contact us directly to verify communications.