Senior Applied Scientist

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

5d • $119,800 - $261,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Microsoft is at the forefront of a new era in productivity, with Microsoft 365 Copilot redefining AI-powered experiences across work. The Copilot and Agents Core Office of the CTO shapes intelligent experiences across Microsoft 365 by bridging research and engineering, building core agent capabilities, incubating emerging technologies, and helping product teams scale high-quality AI features. We partner with engineers, researchers, and product teams to prototype bold ideas, validate them in real-world scenarios, and transition them into production-ready systems. Our culture values curiosity, accountability, collaboration, technical depth, user empathy, continuous learning, and open idea-sharing. By joining this team, you’ll help shape how Copilot and intelligent agents evolve across Microsoft and contribute to intelligent, contextual assistance for millions of users.
As a Senior Applied Scientist, you will design and develop LLMs (Large Language Models) and underlying subsystems tailored to various product scenarios and GenAI capabilities across Microsoft 365 experiences. You will partner with research and engineering teams to deliver best-in-class solutions, align with senior stakeholders, build and evaluate models, develop custom LLM architectures and methods for specific product needs, and apply scientific rigor to problems that empower teams across the organization.
The ideal candidate is an AI-forward applied scientist who can ramp up quickly, thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, and deliver measurable impact. If you’re passionate about advancing the science of large language models and translating research into high-quality production systems, this role is a strong fit.
This position is based in Redmond, Washington and requires the employee be in the office a minimum of 3 days per week.
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

• Bachelor'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)
• Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
• Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
• equivalent experience.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role.
• 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

• 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
• 1+ years experience designing, developing, and evaluating ML models, LLM-based systems, or data-intensive research and evaluation systems.
• Demonstrated ability to ramp up quickly, work independently, and make measurable impact in fast-paced and ambiguous environments
• Collaboration skills and ability to work effectively across multiple teams and disciplines to deliver complex projects.
• 2+ years experience developing and deploying AI/ML or GenAI products or systems at multiple points in the product cycle from ideation to shipping.
• Experience developing, fine-tuning, or evaluating large language models (LLMs) and GenAI systems.
• Experience conducting research as part of a research program (in academic or industry settings), including publications such as patents, libraries, or peer-reviewed academic papers.
• A growth mindset, passion for continuous learning, and drive to make both systems and teams more efficient and effective.

Responsibilities

• Build deep expertise in applied research and modern LLM and ML techniques, and apply it to influence product needs and scientific direction.
• Review business and product requirements, incorporate research, and apply scientific rigor to design, develop, and evaluate methods and models that deliver measurable impact.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand user requirements, gather feedback, and iteratively improve models and solutions.
• Design, implement, and deploy AI/ML solutions that meet quality, scalability, and reliability standards, and translate project vision into actionable milestones, estimates, and plans.
• Document experiments and share findings to promote innovation, and contribute to ethics and privacy practices related to research and data collection.
• Partner closely with cross-functional teams — including engineers, product managers, and data engineers — to deliver high-impact features and platform improvements.
• Embody our culture and values.

Benefits

• The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $160,200 - $261,000 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior