Microsoft Innovation Center
Principal Applied Scientist
Microsoft Innovation Center, Redmond, Washington, United States, 98052
Overview
The MS AI Search Relevance team is at the forefront of delivering world‑class search quality across Microsoft’s ecosystem. We are the driving force behind the relevance of results in Copilot Search experiences and serve as the core retrieval layer in the RAG architecture powering Bizchat. Our impact also extends to maintaining high search quality across traditional endpoints like Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint Search. We thrive at the intersection of innovation and applied machine learning.
We are looking for a
Principal Applied Scientist
to help us deliver breakthrough applied machine learning and information retrieval solutions at enterprise scale. This role is a unique opportunity to apply state‑of‑the‑art techniques—including dense retrieval, hybrid search, multilingual large language models (LLMs), Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG), transformer‑based re‑ranking models, and agentic search—to solve complex challenges in Copilot‑driven enterprise search.
As a Principal Applied Scientist, you’ll be responsible for delivering mission‑critical innovations that directly improve Copilot experiences such as Agentic Search in modern orchestrator architectures, advanced vector search algorithms for enterprise‑scale semantic retrieval, deep language‑understanding for keyword search, relevance model design and LLM fine‑tuning, robust evaluation pipelines using offline metrics and online A/B experimentation, and cross‑org collaboration with platform partners and product teams.
Responsibilities
Drive end‑to‑end applied science projects: from ideation and design to implementation, experimentation, and shipping, leading high‑impact projects that enhance Copilot Chat, Copilot Search, and BizChat.
Inspire and grow a high‑performing applied science team: mentor, set technical direction, guide day‑to‑day work, and ensure scientific and engineering rigor.
Innovate with scientific rigor: invent and apply cutting‑edge techniques in machine learning, natural language processing, and information retrieval to address real‑world challenges at enterprise scale.
Document, share, and amplify learnings: promote transparency by capturing experimental results, documenting methodology, and publishing internal learnings.
Translate business goals into scientific strategy: partner closely with product and business stakeholders to align team objectives with high‑priority goals, converting ambiguous requirements into clear, data‑driven directions.
Collaborate across organizations and time zones: work cross‑functionally with platform engineering teams, peer science orgs, and product managers to resolve dependencies and unblock progress.
Embody Microsoft’s Culture and Values.
Qualifications Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years related experience.
OR Master’s Degree in related field AND 4+ years related experience.
OR Doctorate in related field AND 3+ years related experience.
OR equivalent experience.
4+ years experience in applied science projects from ideation to production in high‑scale environments such as search, recommendation, or conversational AI.
4+ years experience in data analysis at scale, including working with logs, telemetry, and large datasets to uncover behavioral patterns, build evaluation datasets, and derive insights.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience in search and ranking systems, semantic retrieval, and information retrieval at scale.
Applied experience with state‑of‑the‑art retrieval and ranking techniques, including dense retrieval models (e.g., DPR, ANCE, ColBERT).
Experience with vector search systems (e.g., FAISS, ScaNN, Milvus, Pinecone).
Experience with RAG architectures using LLMs such as OpenAI GPT, T5, or Llama.
Experience with fine‑tuning or prompt engineering of large‑scale language models for query rewriting, summarization, and document re‑ranking.
Familiarity with hybrid search strategies, learning‑to‑rank frameworks, and evaluation methodologies for IR systems (offline metrics, A/B testing, relevance judgments).
Pay and Benefits Base pay range: $139,900 / yr – $304,200 / yr. The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 – $274,800 per year, with higher ranges for the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metropolitan area.
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
Application Deadline Microsoft will accept applications for the role until November 16, 2025.
EEO Statement Microsoft is an equal‑opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.
Referrals Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Microsoft Innovation Center by 2x.
Job Details
Seniority level: Mid‑Senior level
Employment type: Full‑time
Job function: Research, Analyst, and Information Technology
Industry: IT Services and IT Consulting
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We are looking for a
Principal Applied Scientist
to help us deliver breakthrough applied machine learning and information retrieval solutions at enterprise scale. This role is a unique opportunity to apply state‑of‑the‑art techniques—including dense retrieval, hybrid search, multilingual large language models (LLMs), Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG), transformer‑based re‑ranking models, and agentic search—to solve complex challenges in Copilot‑driven enterprise search.
As a Principal Applied Scientist, you’ll be responsible for delivering mission‑critical innovations that directly improve Copilot experiences such as Agentic Search in modern orchestrator architectures, advanced vector search algorithms for enterprise‑scale semantic retrieval, deep language‑understanding for keyword search, relevance model design and LLM fine‑tuning, robust evaluation pipelines using offline metrics and online A/B experimentation, and cross‑org collaboration with platform partners and product teams.
Responsibilities
Drive end‑to‑end applied science projects: from ideation and design to implementation, experimentation, and shipping, leading high‑impact projects that enhance Copilot Chat, Copilot Search, and BizChat.
Inspire and grow a high‑performing applied science team: mentor, set technical direction, guide day‑to‑day work, and ensure scientific and engineering rigor.
Innovate with scientific rigor: invent and apply cutting‑edge techniques in machine learning, natural language processing, and information retrieval to address real‑world challenges at enterprise scale.
Document, share, and amplify learnings: promote transparency by capturing experimental results, documenting methodology, and publishing internal learnings.
Translate business goals into scientific strategy: partner closely with product and business stakeholders to align team objectives with high‑priority goals, converting ambiguous requirements into clear, data‑driven directions.
Collaborate across organizations and time zones: work cross‑functionally with platform engineering teams, peer science orgs, and product managers to resolve dependencies and unblock progress.
Embody Microsoft’s Culture and Values.
Qualifications Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years related experience.
OR Master’s Degree in related field AND 4+ years related experience.
OR Doctorate in related field AND 3+ years related experience.
OR equivalent experience.
4+ years experience in applied science projects from ideation to production in high‑scale environments such as search, recommendation, or conversational AI.
4+ years experience in data analysis at scale, including working with logs, telemetry, and large datasets to uncover behavioral patterns, build evaluation datasets, and derive insights.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience in search and ranking systems, semantic retrieval, and information retrieval at scale.
Applied experience with state‑of‑the‑art retrieval and ranking techniques, including dense retrieval models (e.g., DPR, ANCE, ColBERT).
Experience with vector search systems (e.g., FAISS, ScaNN, Milvus, Pinecone).
Experience with RAG architectures using LLMs such as OpenAI GPT, T5, or Llama.
Experience with fine‑tuning or prompt engineering of large‑scale language models for query rewriting, summarization, and document re‑ranking.
Familiarity with hybrid search strategies, learning‑to‑rank frameworks, and evaluation methodologies for IR systems (offline metrics, A/B testing, relevance judgments).
Pay and Benefits Base pay range: $139,900 / yr – $304,200 / yr. The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 – $274,800 per year, with higher ranges for the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metropolitan area.
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
Application Deadline Microsoft will accept applications for the role until November 16, 2025.
EEO Statement Microsoft is an equal‑opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.
Referrals Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Microsoft Innovation Center by 2x.
Job Details
Seniority level: Mid‑Senior level
Employment type: Full‑time
Job function: Research, Analyst, and Information Technology
Industry: IT Services and IT Consulting
#J-18808-Ljbffr