Principal Researcher

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

About The Position

The M365 Research group at Microsoft is driving applied research and innovation efforts that reimagines how intelligent Agentic systems are built, evaluated, and deployed at enterprise scale. Our mission is to develop robust and scalable Agentic Systems that can operate reliably in complex real‑world environments, enabling step‑function advances in Human productivity. We are seeking a Principal Researcher to drive research and incubation efforts across Agentic systems. This role offers a unique opportunity to define long‑term research vision and translate foundational advances into durable product and business impact. The scope of this role spans foundational agentic capabilities and forward‑looking research on next‑generation AI agent architecture. The ideal candidate will combine deep technical expertise with the ability to set technical directions and drive execution across multiple time horizons. We communicate our work through academic publications, open‑source releases, patents, and close collaboration with product and engineering teams across Microsoft. Our goal is to shape the future of AI agents while delivering meaningful impact to real‑world systems used on a global scale. Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees, we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Requirements

Doctorate in relevant field AND 6+ years related research experience OR Master's Degree in relevant field AND 7+ years related research experience OR Bachelor's Degree in relevant field AND 9+ years related research experience OR equivalent experience.
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.

Nice To Haves

Doctorate in relevant field AND 8+ years related research experience OR Master's Degree in relevant field AND 12+ years related research experience OR Bachelor's Degree in relevant field AND 15+ years related research experience OR equivalent experience.
Experience publishing academic papers as a lead author or essential contributor.
Experience participating in a top conference in relevant research domain.
Experience designing and building end-to-end AI systems or production-grade systems that scale to real-world usage.
Background in AI robustness, safety, evaluation, or long‑horizon learning.
History of cross‑disciplinary collaboration across research, product, and engineering.
Active participation in the research community through publications, workshops, or collaborations with academic or industry partners.

Responsibilities

Define and own long‑term research and incubation agenda for Agentic Systems.
Drive research for agentic systems for high‑impact enterprise use cases such as: enterprise productivity and coding agents.
Incubate next‑generation agent architectures, including multi‑step reasoning, planning, reflection, multi‑agent collaboration, and self‑improving systems.
Partner closely with product, engineering, and Microsoft leadership to translate research into real‑world impact.
Publish in top-tier conferences and journals and contribute to the broader research community through open-source contributions and thought leadership.