Principal Researcher - Machine Learning & Statistics - Microsoft Research

Microsoft•Cambridge, MA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Microsoft Research New England in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is seeking a full-time Principal Researcher in artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics, or a related area. The lab offers a supportive environment for cutting-edge theoretical and applied research across disciplines, with current areas of focus including the science of deep learning and generative AI, post-training, data curation and synthesis, test-time scaling, and new model architectures and training paradigms. These themes are illustrative rather than exhaustive. Researchers have access to a wide range of large and small data sources, an open publication policy, and connections with leading academic institutions. The Principal Researcher will define and lead an independent, influential research agenda spanning fundamental and applied work. The role provides intellectual leadership across projects and disciplines, initiates ambitious collaborations, and helps shape research priorities within Microsoft Research. The successful candidate will produce sustained, field-shaping research contributions, mentor and support other researchers, and identify strategic opportunities for research to influence the scientific community, Microsoft products, and society. Microsoft Research New England brings together researchers, postdoctoral researchers, data scientists, engineers, and program managers working across machine learning, statistics, healthcare, computational biology, theoretical computer science, algorithmic game theory, economics, and other disciplines. The lab fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and maintains active connections with academic and technology communities in the Cambridge and Boston area. Microsoft is committed to building an inclusive, diverse, and pluralistic research environment.

Requirements

Doctorate in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, or a relevant field and 3+ years of related research experience; or a master's degree in one of these fields and 4+ years of related research experience; or a bachelor's degree in one of these fields and 6+ years of related research experience; or equivalent experience.
Ability to define and pursue an independent research program.
Demonstrated research impact through a strong publication record at leading venues.

Nice To Haves

A sustained record of original research impact, demonstrated through influential peer-reviewed publications, widely used research artifacts, or comparable contributions.
Experience shaping research directions and leading collaborative research efforts.
Experience running large-scale experiments with transformer/LLM pre-training and/or fine-tuning.
Experience creating, optimizing, and running large-scale machine-learning pipelines.
Experience building data collection and curation pipelines.
Ability to collaborate, communicate effectively, and work as part of a multidisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

Define and lead an influential research agenda spanning fundamental and applied work.
Provide intellectual leadership across projects and disciplines.
Initiate ambitious research collaborations and help shape broader research priorities within Microsoft Research.
Produce sustained, field-shaping research contributions.
Mentor and support the development of other researchers.
Identify strategic opportunities for research to influence the scientific community, Microsoft products, and society.