Principal Applied Scientist

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Microsoft Content Product team is looking for a Principal Applied Scientist to join our Core Recommendation and Content Generation team. This role offers an opportunity to expand and apply existing knowledge in LLM and NLP, challenge oneself with the latest ideas, and change the way millions of people do local search every day. The position involves building scalable services using state-of-the-art deep learning to help users of Windows/Bing on mobile and desktop. This project has the potential to define the future of content services for Microsoft, enabling billions of users worldwide to discover content and start new conversations. Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, fostering a culture of inclusion, innovation, and collaboration with a growth mindset. Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees within a specified commute distance of a Microsoft office are expected to work from the office at least four days per week, subject to local laws.

Requirements

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)
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)
Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
Equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

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)
Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
Equivalent experience.
At least 8+ years of industry software development experience coding in C/C++, C#, Java and/or Python.
Experience applying LLM techniques or Recommendation system.
Tech lead on critical project related to recommendation or AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) scenarios.

Responsibilities

Participate in design, implementation, and execution across a variety of features, including directly building SOTA LLM models.
Drive architectural changes into the product to expand our footprint and increase developer agility.
Invest in others’ growth, mentor team members, and help build a highly capable team.
Regularly communicate team progress internally and evangelize progress and opportunities to a wider audience including management and leadership.
Drive innovations in AIGC applications, ranking and recommendation algorithms.