Microsoft

Senior Applied Scientist

Microsoft • $119K — $234K *
Redmond, WA 98052In-Person
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Today
Be an Early Applicant
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience with 4+ years in related work; or Master's with 3+ years; or Doctorate with 1+ year.
  • 1+ years designing, developing, and evaluating machine learning models or LLM-based systems.
  • 2+ years experience in developing and deploying AI/ML or GenAI products throughout the product cycle.
  • Demonstrated ability to rapidly adapt and produce results in ambiguous environments.
  • Experience in conducting research within academic or industry settings, including publications.

Responsibilities

  • Build expertise in applied research and modern LLM/ML techniques to guide product direction.
  • Review business needs and integrate research to design impactful models.
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to gather feedback and enhance models iteratively.
  • Design and deploy AI/ML solutions that align with quality and reliability standards.
  • Document experiments and share insights to foster innovation and ethical practices.
  • Work closely with cross-functional teams to implement high-impact features.
  • Embark on a culture of inclusivity and corporate values.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies related to large language models and GenAI.
  • Collaborative work environment with cross-functional partnerships.
  • Involvement in ethically responsible research practices.
  • Based in a tech hub, providing robust professional development opportunities.
Full Job Description
Overview

As a Senior Applied Scientist, you will design and develop LLMs (Large Language Models) and underlying subsystems tailored to various product scenarios and GenAI capabilities across Microsoft 365 experiences. You will partner with research and engineering teams to deliver best-in-class solutions, align with senior stakeholders, build and evaluate models, develop custom LLM architectures and methods for specific product needs, and apply scientific rigor to problems that empower teams across the organization.

The ideal candidate is an AI-forward applied scientist who can ramp up quickly, thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, and deliver measurable impact. If you're passionate about advancing the science of large language models and translating research into high-quality production systems, this role is a strong fit.

This position is based in Redmond, Washington and requires the employee be in the office a minimum of 3 days per week.

Responsibilities

  • Build deep expertise in applied research and modern LLM and ML techniques, and apply it to influence product needs and scientific direction.
  • Review business and product requirements, incorporate research, and apply scientific rigor to design, develop, and evaluate methods and models that deliver measurable impact.
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to understand user requirements, gather feedback, and iteratively improve models and solutions.
  • Design, implement, and deploy AI/ML solutions that meet quality, scalability, and reliability standards, and translate project vision into actionable milestones, estimates, and plans.
  • Document experiments and share findings to promote innovation, and contribute to ethics and privacy practices related to research and data collection.
  • Partner closely with cross-functional teams - including engineers, product managers, and data engineers - to deliver high-impact features and platform improvements.
  • Embody our culture and values.


Qualifications

Required Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 4+ 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.

Other Requirements:

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:
  • Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 6+ 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 4+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR equivalent experience
  • 1+ years experience designing, developing, and evaluating ML models, LLM-based systems, or data-intensive research and evaluation systems.
  • Demonstrated ability to ramp up quickly, work independently, and make measurable impact in fast-paced and ambiguous environments
  • Collaboration skills and ability to work effectively across multiple teams and disciplines to deliver complex projects.
  • 2+ years experience developing and deploying AI/ML or GenAI products or systems at multiple points in the product cycle from ideation to shipping.
  • Experience developing, fine-tuning, or evaluating large language models (LLMs) and GenAI systems.
  • Experience conducting research as part of a research program (in academic or industry settings), including publications such as patents, libraries, or peer-reviewed academic papers.
  • A growth mindset, passion for continuous learning, and drive to make both systems and teams more efficient and effective.

#agentic #llm #copilot

Applied Sciences IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $160,200 - $261,000 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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At Microsoft, your future is limitless. Join us in our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Your journey with Microsoft starts here.
Learn more about Microsoft
Size
181,000 employees
Market Cap
$1,762.4 billion
Industry
Enterprise Technology
Net Income
$51.3 billion
Founded
1975
5 Year Trend
+15.5%
Revenue
$153.2 billion
NASDAQ
MSFT
* Ladders Estimates

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