Senior Applied Scientist

Overview

Are you passionate about machine learning and intrigued by the potential of data? At Microsoft Search, we have been pioneering machine learning technologies long before they became mainstream, solving real-world challenges that empower millions worldwide. Our team develops the core search infrastructure that powers all Copilot Search scenarios, offering you the opportunity to innovate at scale.

Responsibilities

• Champion the advancement of science by designing and executing experiments, specifying and validating metrics, and developing ML pipelines and models involving post-training foundation models, encoder-decoder architectures, and cross-encoder models.
• Handle large-scale datasets to extract insights while strictly adhering to privacy and compliance standards.
• Collaborate as a senior team member across the technology stack and with diverse colleagues to optimize design and architectural solutions.
• Drive innovation by working closely with Engineering, Product Management, and Design teams to transform product vision and emerging industry trends into scalable, dependable, and agile architectures.
• Coordinate with various Microsoft entities including Microsoft Research, Azure, AI platform groups, and product teams to integrate state-of-the-art AI into practical applications.
• Focus on delivering customer impact by engaging with customers and internal teams to identify pain points and implement meaningful improvements.
• Provide technical guidance and leadership to the team, sharing knowledge across the broader product organization.
• Establish and enhance evaluation processes, generate actionable insights from model tests, and define success metrics that represent platform and product growth.
• Stay informed on the latest research developments and cultivate a vibrant applied science environment. While publishing research is encouraged, it is not mandatory.

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related discipline with 4+ years of relevant experience; OR Master's degree with 3+ years experience; OR Doctorate with 1+ year of experience; OR equivalent experience.
• Preferred Qualifications: Bachelor's degree with over 8 years of related experience; OR Master's degree with 5+ years; OR Doctorate with 2+ years; OR equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 3 years' proficiency coding in Python.
• Experience with post-training of foundational models is advantageous.

Additional Requirements

• Must meet Microsoft and client security screening requirements, including passing the Microsoft Cloud background check during hiring and recurring every two years.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Microsoft is committed to diversity and inclusion. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to personal characteristics protected by local laws and regulations. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request during the hiring process.

Selection Process

This role will remain open for a minimum of five days with rolling applications accepted until the position is successfully filled.