Principal Applied AI Scientist

Microsoft is on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world. You can help us achieve our mission.

Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS) AI Transformation (AIT) focuses on making sure sellers, customers, and partners are AI enabled to drive scale and efficiency with prioritized solution plays aligned with Microsoft Customer Engagement Methodology (MCEM), regionalized marketing, and operational centers of excellence.

As a

Principal Applied AI Scientist, you will oversee the AI Incubation Program, ensuring that AI Engineers, Scientists, and Product Managers deliver AI projects successfully. Your role involves leading the development of AI and ML solutions in areas such as Generative AI, multi-modal AI, Recommendation Engines, and Causal Models. Additionally, you will guide architectural updates and platform planning to support AI solutions, machine learning recommendations, and product integration for MCAPS Businesses. You will also collaborate with various teams to explore new applications of AI research areas and implement architectural changes.Responsibilities

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Problem Formulation* Frames broad or ambiguous questions into discrete, manageable problems with well-defined, measurable objectives.

• Uses and promotes data-exploration techniques in order to discover new or previously unasked questions.
  
• Incorporates an understanding of the business, customer perspectives, data sources, and methodologies to reframe problems in order to gain added insight.
  
• Defines metrics and methodology that accurately quantify the customer/business value of improvements.
  
• Conforms to privacy policies that govern data sources.
  

Applying Scientific Methods* Identifies data sources, integrates multiple sources or types of data, and applies expertise within a data source in order to develop methods to compensate for limitations and extend the applicability of the data.

• Applies (or develops if necessary) tools and pipelines to efficiently collect, clean, and prepare massive volumes of data for analysis.
  
• Transforms formulated problems into implementation plans for experiments by applying (and creating when necessary) the appropriate methods, algorithms, and tools, and statistically validating the results against biases and errors.
  
• Interprets results and develops insights into formulated problems within the business/customer context and provides guidance on risks and limitations.
  
• Acquires and uses broad knowledge of innovative methods, machine learning algorithms, and tools from within Microsoft and from the scientific literature, and applies his or her own analysis of scalability and applicability to the formulated problem.
  
• Validates, monitors, and drives continuous improvement to methods, and proposes enhancements to data products and models that improve usability and results.
  
• Assists with documentation as requested.
  

Leveraging Applied Research* Gains a basic understanding of a broad area of AI and Large Language Models and implements these technologies in relevant business domains.

• Develops basic knowledge of changes in industry trends and advances in applied technologies. Shares knowledge with team members. Learns product domain by reviewing products.
  
• Applies strategy by understanding the role in the team and applying the strategy provided by senior team members.
  
• Under instruction from others, researches new tools, technologies, and methods being used in the community that can be utilized to improve product quality, performance, or efficiency. Contributes knowledge around a specialized tool/method to support the application of business impact.
  

Driving Impact with Data & Science* Influences stakeholders to make product/service improvements that yield customer/business value by effectively making compelling cases through story-telling, visualizations, and other influencing tools.

• Develops foundational knowledge and methods to address key (or previously unidentified) problem areas, and uses the appropriate channels to evangelize them with the broader Microsoft community.
  
• Consistently identifies and ships measurable changes to tools, instrumentation, models, algorithms, and/or products/services that fundamentally improve the existing model, tool, and/or product/service framework.
  

Effective Team Collaboration* Drives collaboration across teams and begins to find ways to accomplish more by enabling others.

• Overcomes obstacles by resolving issues regardless of team boundaries, and identifies and resolves teamwork issues.
  
• Engages and maintains consistent communication with all relevant parties until issues are resolved.
  
• Promotes a positive team environment by remaining open to feedback and by modeling best practices and behavior that promote good morale and team culture.
  
• Proactively provides mentorship and coaching to junior and mid-level team members (e.g., interns, research associates, Ph.D. candidates) by sharing expertise to build team capabilities and guiding team members in projects, and their careers, and may help to establish best practices and standards.
  

Qualifications

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Required/Minimum 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.

• 3+ years experience developing and deploying products or systems at multiple points in the product cycle from ideation to shipping.
  

Additional or Preferred Qualifications* Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 9+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)

+ OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)

+ OR equivalent experience.

• 5+ years experience creating publications (e.g., patents, libraries, peer-reviewed academic papers).
  
• 2+ years experience presenting at conferences or other events in the outside research/industry community as an invited speaker.
  
• 5+ years experience conducting research as part of a research program (in academic or industry settings).
  
• 3+ years experience developing and deploying live production systems, as part of a product team.
  
• Master's Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years data-science experience (e.g., applied AI/ML, managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
  

+ OR equivalent experience

• 3+ years of experience with programming in Python, PySpark
  
• 3+ years big data systems for ad hoc query and data preparation
  
• Experience developing Apps, scorecards and reports using similar to PowerBI, PowerApps, Tableau and Flow
  
• Interpersonal communication and presentation skills (leverage the data to tell a story)
  
• Collaboration and Program Management skills
  

Applied Sciences IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 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 $188,000 - $304,200 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

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until August 20, 2025.

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Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.