Microsoft

Senior Applied Scientist

Microsoft$119K — $234K *
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field with 4+ years of experience, or a Master's with 3+ years, or a Doctorate with 1+ year, or equivalent experience.
  • 3+ years of experience creating publications like patents or peer-reviewed papers.
  • Experience as an invited speaker at conferences in the research or industry community.
  • 1+ year of experience in developing and deploying live production systems within a product team.
  • Experience building large scale machine learning systems for search, ads, or recommendations.

Responsibilities

  • Design and improve large-scale machine learning models for Bing Search relevance.
  • Manage end-to-end model development, including training and evaluation.
  • Optimize multi-stage ranking stacks for low-latency search results.
  • Utilize LLMs for query understanding and ranking enhancement.
  • Tackle cold-start challenges through content understanding and pre-training.

Benefits

  • A culture of inclusion, growth, and innovation.
  • Opportunities for professional development and contributions to meaningful projects.
  • Participation in a team focused on leading-edge technology and AI advancements.
Full Job Description
Overview

Core Search and AI team (Bing) is looking for people who want to build the next generation of search using advanced AI technologies, especially large language models, at scale. We are responsible for the largest machine learning models at Microsoft by volume and take pride in being the first in the world to solve many practical AI at Scale challenges. Our work spans a very large scope of scenarios to deliver high quality search results by document/answers summarization for representation and ranking, query and document understanding, and AI search grounding.

Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

Responsibilities
  • Design, train, and improve large-scale machine learning models for Bing Search relevance and ranking, with a focus on transformer-based and LLM-powered approaches.
  • Own end-to-end model development, including problem formulation, feature design, training, offline evaluation, and online A/B experimentation.
  • Develop and optimize multi-stage ranking stacks (recall, coarse ranking, fine ranking) to deliver high-quality, low-latency search results at global scale.
  • Leverage LLMs for query and document understanding, summarization, representation learning, and grounding to enhance ranking quality.
  • Address cold-start and sparse-data challenges through content understanding, pre-training, and representation sharing.


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.

Additional or preferred qualifications :

Master'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 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.

3+ years experience creating publications (e.g., patents, libraries, peer-reviewed academic papers).

Experience presenting at conferences or other events in the outside research/industry community as an invited speaker.

3+ years experience conducting research as part of a research program (in academic or industry settings).

1+ year(s) experience developing and deploying live production systems, as part of a product team.

1+ year(s) experience developing and deploying products or systems at multiple points in the product cycle from ideation to shipping.

  • Experience building and improving large scale Machine Learning system for search, ads, and recommendation.
  • Research background on Machine Learning, LLM and NLP.
  • Fantastic problem solver: ability to identify and solve problems that the world has not solved before.


#MicrosoftAI

Applied Sciences IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800.00 - $234,700.00 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 $160,200.00 - $261,000.00 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.

Microsoft Careers

Join Microsoft today and be part of a company that values innovation, leadership, and diversity in its workforce. As a global leader in technology and digital transformation, Microsoft offers unparalleled job opportunities that propel your career to new heights.

Explore Career Opportunities at Microsoft

Whether you're a seasoned professional looking for your next challenge or a recent graduate eager to start your career, Microsoft has a position that suits your skills and ambitions. We are committed to fostering a culture of growth and learning, where every team member is supported in expanding their horizons.

Internship Programs

Kickstart your career with a Microsoft internship. Our internships provide invaluable workplace experience and networking opportunities in a supportive and dynamic environment. You'll work on real projects, learn from industry leaders, and gain the skills necessary for a successful career in technology.

Employment Benefits

Choosing a career at Microsoft means more than just a job. Our employees enjoy a range of benefits designed to empower them both professionally and personally. These include comprehensive health benefits, flexible working conditions, and opportunities for career advancement through professional development and diversity training.

Inclusive Culture and Diversity

At Microsoft, we believe that innovation comes from diversity of thought and inclusion. We are committed to a workplace where everyone feels valued and inspired. Our leadership is dedicated to fostering an environment where diverse perspectives lead to breakthrough innovations and a competitive edge.

Grow with Us

Career growth at Microsoft is about more than climbing the corporate ladder; it's about continuous learning, expanding your skills, and improving your capabilities. With access to various leadership and training programs, you can evolve as a professional and make a significant impact within the company and on the global stage.

Hiring Process

Our hiring process is designed to identify true potential. Starting with a review of your resume, followed by interviews that assess your problem-solving abilities and cultural fit, we ensure that all candidates have a fair chance to demonstrate their strengths and potential to contribute to our team.

Networking and Professional Development

Microsoft is a place where you can build a professional network that spans the globe. Our employees benefit from connections with top-tier professionals and industry leaders, which opens doors to innovative projects and collaborative opportunities that are second to none.

Join Our Team

If you're ready to take on exciting challenges and make a difference in the world of technology, explore the job opportunities at Microsoft. Search for open positions that match your skills and interests, and prepare to embark on a rewarding career path filled with innovation and opportunities for personal and professional growth.

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SEARCH MICROSOFT JOBS

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
Net Income
$51.3 billion
Founded
1975
5 Year Trend
+15.5%
Revenue
$153.2 billion
NASDAQ

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