With the rapid acceleration of AI and the need to deliver trustworthy, high-performing models, Microsoft's Enterprise Engineering and AI (EEAI) Data Science and Applied AI team is driving innovation at scale! Our mission is to advance AI capabilities through rigorous evaluations, fine-tuning, and large-scale experimentation to create intelligent, personalized experiences for customers worldwide. The EEAI Data Science and Applied AI team is seeking passionate AI practitioners and data scientists to join agile, cross-functional teams working on cutting-edge model evaluation frameworks, optimization pipelines, and experimentation platforms that power Microsoft's AI ecosystem.
We are looking for a Principal Data and Applied Scientist to join our team! As a member of the Enterprise Engineering and AI (EEAI) Data Science and Applied AI organization at Microsoft, you will help us accelerate the company's own AI transformation. You will have the opportunity to partner directly with the engineering and product management groups responsible for managing the Dynamics 365 applications that power Microsoft's sales, marketing, and support platforms. You will apply advanced analytics, statistical modeling, machine learning and GenAI tools to uncover insights, drive action and deliver innovative solutions for complex business challenges.
This role offers the opportunity to:
Collaborate across a diverse team of data scientists, engineers, and product managers.
Deepen your expertise in the evolving AI and ML landscape.
Drive meaningful impact for thousands of Microsoft sales, marketing and support platform users.
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.
Responsibilities
Work with key stakeholders to understand the underlying business needs and formulate the needs into discrete, manageable problems with well-defined measurable objectives and outcomes.
Transform formulated problems into implementation plans by defining success metrics, applying/creating the appropriate methods, algorithms, and tools, as well as delivering statistically valid and reliable results.
Write robust, reusable, and extensible code to support analysis and modeling.
Develop new ML or GenAI based models using advanced statistical and ML techniques.
Lead the evaluation of various GenAI based solutions, diagnosing issues and identifying root causes to support potential fine-tuning or reinforcement learning based fixes.
Use AI-powered tools in your daily work to accelerate coding, analysis, and other tasks.
Qualifications
Other Requirements
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.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in Python, PySpark, and SQL.
Exposure to ML development platforms such as Azure Machine Learning, Azure AI Foundry + Azure OpenAI.
6+ years of experience in data science, product/journey analytics, causal inference, and user behavioral modeling.
Experience driving product improvements through data and insights.
Experience designing experiments, defining standardized metrics, performing causal analyses, and delivering behavior-driven insights.
Experience with learning platforms and/or learner competency and skill modeling (e.g., proficiency, mastery, and skill signals).
Experience levering AI to deliver accelerate time to insight and depth of insights
Experience with large-scale enterprise data platforms (e.g., Fabric, Synapse, ADX, Delta Lake, ADF, Databricks, Snowflake).
Experience in ML development platforms such as Azure Machine Learning, Azure AI Foundry + Azure OpenAI.
Data Science IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 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 $188,000 - $304,200 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
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.
Skills Required
- Doctorate in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or a related field plus 3 or more years of data science experience
- Master's degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or a related field plus 5 or more years of data science experience
- Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or a related field plus 7 or more years of data science experience
- Equivalent experience may substitute for the stated education and experience combinations
- Ability to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check and applicable customer or government security screenings
- Experience with Python, PySpark, and SQL
- Experience with Azure Machine Learning, Azure AI Foundry, and Azure OpenAI
- Six or more years of experience in data science, product or journey analytics, causal inference, and user behavioral modeling
- Experience driving product improvements through data and insights
- Experience designing experiments, defining standardized metrics, conducting causal analyses, and delivering behavior-driven insights
- Experience with learning platforms or learner competency and skill modeling
- Experience using AI to accelerate time to insight and improve insight depth
- Experience with enterprise data platforms such as Fabric, Synapse, Azure Data Explorer, Delta Lake, Azure Data Factory, Databricks, or Snowflake
Microsoft Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Microsoft and has not been reviewed or approved by Microsoft.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as comprehensive, with preventive care coverage, vision options, and annual out-of-pocket limits. Feedback suggests medical, mental-health, and disability support are a major strength of the package.
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Parental & Family Support — Family support is expansive, including parental leave, family caregiver leave, child-care assistance, family concierge services, fertility options, and college-advising support for eligible employees. Feedback suggests these benefits meaningfully ease caregiving and family planning demands.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellbeing resources include counseling and employee-assistance services, wellness reimbursements, product discounts, and charitable-matching programs. Feedback suggests these extras complement core benefits and support day-to-day quality of life.
Microsoft Insights
What We Do
At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.
