Microsoft

Applied Scientist II

Microsoft$102K — $202K *
Enterprise Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in a quantitative field with 2+ years of related experience, or equivalent
  • Master's Degree with 1+ year of experience, or PhD in a related field
  • Preferred: 5+ years of experience for Bachelor's Degree qualifications
  • 2+ years coding experience in Python, C++, C#, C, or Java
  • 1+ year applying Machine Learning techniques in industry
  • Experience with large scale ML systems for search and ads, especially adopting LLMs
  • Research background in Machine Learning, LLM, and NLP

Responsibilities

  • Contribute to subareas and build expertise in advanced research methodologies
  • Develop deep knowledge of a service and identify product opportunities
  • Explore data types needed for problem solving and apply subject-matter expertise
  • Document ongoing work and research findings to promote transparency
  • Build and optimize retrieval and ranking systems integrated with LLM experiences
  • Refine RAG pipelines to enhance retrieval fidelity and deliver user-aligned responses
  • Translate research into production by running experiments and collaborating with engineering
  • Monitor model performance using quantifiable metrics and user-centric evaluation

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage
  • Retirement savings plans with employer match
  • Generous paid time off and holidays
  • Access to employee development programs and tuition reimbursement
  • Wellness programs and resources for a healthy work-life balance
Full Job Description
Responsibilities

In this role you will
  • contribute to one or more subareas and build expertise across a broad research landscape, including advanced research methodologies and applied techniques.
  • develop deep knowledge of a service, platform, or domain, and identify product opportunities by sharing emerging industry trends and applied technologies.
  • explore types of data needed to solve complex problems and apply deep subject-matter expertise to drive measurable business impact.
  • document ongoing work, experimental results, and research findings to promote transparency and innovation.
  • develop next-generation search capabilities by building and optimizing retrieval, ranking, and relevance systems that integrate deeply with LLM-powered experiences.
  • refine RAG pipelines that enhance retrieval fidelity, reduce hallucinations, and deliver more context-aware, user-aligned responses in production environments.
  • translate research into production by running experiments, analyzing results, and collaborating with engineering partners to deploy scalable, reliable model improvements.
  • monitor and evaluate model performance using quantitative metrics, qualitative assessments, and user-centric evaluation frameworks to ensure continuous improvement.
  • contribute to a culture of innovation by sharing learnings, mentoring peers, and participating in internal research discussions, reviews, and technical deep dives.


Qualifications

Required Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 2+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field
    • OR equivalent experience.


Preferred Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 5+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR equivalent experience.
  • 2+ years of experience coding in Python, C++, C#, C or Java.
  • 1+ year of industry experience applying Machine Learning techniques.
  • Experience building and improving large scale Machine Learning system for search, ads, and recommendation, adopting LLM.
  • Research background on Machine Learning, LLM and NLP.
  • Proficient problem solver: ability to identify and solve problems that the world has not solved before.

#MicrosoftAI

Applied Sciences IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $102,100.00 - $202,200.00 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $133,800.00 - $219,200.00 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

About Microsoft

Microsoft is an American multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services. Microsoft’s devices and consumer (D&C) licensing segment licenses the Windows operating system and related software, Microsoft Office for consumers, and the Windows Phone operating system. The company’s computing and gaming hardware segment provides Xbox gaming and entertainment consoles and accessories, second-party and third-party video games, and Xbox Live subscriptions; surface devices and accessories; and Microsoft PC accessories. Its phone hardware segment offers Lumia smartphones and other non-Lumia phones. Its D&C segment provides Windows Store, Xbox Live transactions, and Windows phone store; search advertising; display advertising; Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal; first-party video games; and other consumer products and services as well as operating retail stores. Microsoft’s commercial licensing segments license server products, including Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Windows Embedded; Windows operating system; Microsoft Office for business, including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, and related CALs; Microsoft Dynamics business solutions; and Skype. Its commercial segment offers enterprise services, including premier support services and Microsoft consulting services; commercial cloud comprising Office 365 Commercial, other Microsoft Office online offerings, Dynamics CRM Online, and Microsoft Azure; and other commercial products and online services. The company markets and distributes its products through original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and resellers, as well as online.

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Learn more about Microsoft
Size
181,000 employees
Market Cap
$1,762.4 billion
Industry
Net Income
$51.3 billion
Founded
1975
5 Year Trend
+15.5%
Revenue
$153.2 billion
NASDAQ

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