Applied Scientist II
Job Description
The Microsoft Applied Sciences Group incubates disruptive technologies for Microsoft’s next-gen hardware products and is working on several exciting projects that will shape how computers and other devices perceive the user and the user’s environment. Operating as a startup within the company, this team works closely with several research and product teams to bring compelling new experiences to the market. A lot of these experiences will be powered by large language models, natural language processing (NLP), speech, and computer vision – and as part of this team, you will have the unique opportunity to develop and implementing the ML algorithms and deep neural network (DNN) models that make magic happen! We are looking for an Applied Scientist II – Applied Science in the field of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Small Language Models (SLMs). This role emphasizes evaluation and data synthesis as the foundation for building future intelligent and agentic systems.You will design and operationalize robust evaluation metrics for multimodal embeddings, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, and agentic systems that combine reasoning, planning, and action. These metrics will not only measure performance but also guide the creation of new datasets, inform data synthesis and augmentation strategies, and identify opportunities for novel end-to-end solutions.Through this evaluation-driven approach, you will shape the direction of agentic architectures, new model designs, and applied research initiatives, ensuring that our systems continuously adapt, improve, and expand their capabilities. The ability to analyze multimodal data and interpret human and human-object interactions is central to Applied Science’s mission of enabling seamless human-computer interaction.As part of this team, you will collaborate with a growing group of talented researchers already dedicated to this mission and leverage data and hardware resources available to only a select few. Naturally, the opportunity for you to push the state of the art in this field is huge. 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.
Locations
- Multiple Locations, Multiple Locations, United States, Multiple Locations, Multiple Locations, United States (Remote)
Salary
Salary not disclosed
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 2+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)OR Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related fieldOR equivalent experience. (degree)
- OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) (degree)
- OR Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field (degree)
- OR equivalent experience. (degree)
- 1+ years of experience training/fine tuning AI/ML models, preferably LLMs/SLMs (small language model). (degree)
- 1+ years' experience with productization or shipping ML and/or AI components for large-scale internet applications. (degree)
- Demonstrated experience with deep learning techniques (e.g., Transformers, RNNs, CNNs, reinforcement learning) and machine learning frameworks (Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow, ONNX). (degree)
- Experience working with multimodal data and models (e.g., text, vision, speech, structured signals) and/or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). (degree)
- Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter. (degree)
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 4+ years related experience (e.g., statistics predictive analytics, research) OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) OR Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) OR equivalent experience. (degree)
- OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) (degree)
- OR Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) (degree)
- OR equivalent experience. (degree)
- 1+ year(s) experience creating publications (e.g., patents, peer-reviewed academic papers). (degree)
- Experience creating or deploying evaluation frameworks that drive model improvement, data synthesis, or system-level design. (degree)
- Solid background in applied research with ability to translate evaluation insights into new models, end-to-end solutions, and research directions. (degree)
- Proficiency with C/C++ or other performant programming languages a plus. (degree)
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 4+ years related experience (e.g., statistics predictive analytics, research) OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) OR Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) OR equivalent experience. (degree)
- OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) (degree)
- OR Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) (degree)
- OR equivalent experience. (degree)
- 1+ year(s) experience creating publications (e.g., patents, peer-reviewed academic papers). (degree)
- Experience creating or deploying evaluation frameworks that drive model improvement, data synthesis, or system-level design. (degree)
- Solid background in applied research with ability to translate evaluation insights into new models, end-to-end solutions, and research directions. (degree)
- Proficiency with C/C++ or other performant programming languages a plus. (degree)
Responsibilities
- Design and implement evaluation frameworks to measure the performance of multimodal embeddings, RAG pipelines, and agentic systems.
- Use evaluation insights to drive data synthesis, augmentation, and collection strategies that improve coverage and robustness.
- Build pipelines to test algorithms and models, analyze the results, and translate findings into actionable improvements.
- Develop metrics and benchmarks that inform system-level performance and guide the evolution of end-to-end human-computer interaction solutions.
- Collaborate with researchers and engineers to prototype and scale agentic systems that combine reasoning, planning, and action.
- Research and develop LLMs and SLMs with Python and other relevant programming languages.
Travel Requirements
0 days / week in-office - remote
