Senior Applied Scientist - Copilot & Agents

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Applied Scientist specialized in Applied AI, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning with a proven record of delivering innovative AI applications at scale. The position focuses on advancing large language model (LLM) technologies and AI-driven features within Microsoft 365 Copilot, enhancing enterprise productivity globally.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement scientific methods to assess and enhance LLM reasoning, grounding, retrieval, and agent behaviors through offline benchmarking, live experiments, and large-scale telemetry data analysis.
• Conduct in-depth technical investigations and model assessments to boost product quality, reliability, latency, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and user experience.
• Establish and apply comprehensive evaluation frameworks including offline benchmarks and online A/B testing to quantitatively measure model and system performance.
• Collaborate closely with engineering and product teams to convert research insights into scalable production systems serving millions of users.
• Analyze model outputs to identify failure modes, grounding effectiveness, reasoning accuracy, tool utilization, and orchestration results with a goal of continuous improvement.
• Advance techniques in agentic workflows, multi-step reasoning, planning, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), tool orchestration, and reinforcement learning-based system optimization.
• Review technical designs and research findings to ensure scientific rigor, reproducibility, and strong engineering standards.
• Partner with other researchers and engineers to tackle complex challenges spanning large language models, machine learning, deep learning, information retrieval, and human-AI interaction.
• Keep abreast of the latest advancements in LLMs, reasoning frameworks, agent architectures, reinforcement learning, and applied AI; integrate relevant developments into production environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctorate degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or a related discipline, combined with notable professional experience in statistics, predictive analytics, or research.
• Equivalent professional experience may also be considered.
• Ability to successfully complete Microsoft’s security screening processes including the Microsoft Cloud background check, required upon hiring and at biannual intervals thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, or related areas; alternatively, extensive industry experience or publication records in Information Retrieval, Machine Learning, or Natural Language Processing for candidates with a Master's degree.
• Demonstrated track record as an individual contributor in Machine Learning, Large Language Models, NLP, Information Retrieval, or Recommendation Systems.
• Experience in developing and deploying ML models at scale within production environments, demonstrating applied research leadership.
• Expertise designing and implementing agentic AI architectures and systems.

Other Information

The role is classified under Applied Sciences IC4 grade with a typical base salary range in the United Kingdom from £74,700 to £122,600 annually. Eligibility for additional benefits and compensation may apply. Microsoft offers equal employment opportunities and fosters an inclusive environment free from discrimination based on any protected characteristic under local laws. Accommodations for disability and religious needs during the hiring process are available upon request.