Senior Applied Scientist

We are the Data & Applied Sciences team for Microsoft Teams, based in Bangalore, India. Our mission is to leverage generative AI, advanced machine learning, deep learning, and data science to drive informed decision-making, improve product performance, and maximize business impact. We develop systems and applications that address high-impact business challenges and opportunities within Microsoft Teams, with a strong focus on state-of-the-art recommender systems, GenAI applications, and LLM evaluation.We are looking for a Senior Applied Scientist who is passionate about leading and pushing forward cutting edge research and technology platforms for human communication understanding. You will work as part of a team that brings together talent in the areas of machine learning, generative AI, natural language processing, information retrieval, software engineering, data analytics and ML operations. We value and encourage diversity in the belief that it leads to both great workplaces and great products.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.

You will be expected to work on many levels - from mining massive datasets for identifying opportunities, through designing and implementing your solutions into our offline and live production systems, defining appropriate metrics to measure their effectiveness, conducting A/B experiments and rigorous quality evaluation, as well as mentoring team members. Your coding skills will be challenged to write scalable, distributed and highly efficient components. Candidates should give evidence of their ability to write efficient and maintainable code.

You will be involved in:

• Building models and featurization pipelines.
• Measuring and improving model performance with feedback loop and reinforcement learning; working with product teams on appropriate designs of AI-powered experiences.
• Setting up, running and analyzing experiments.
• Prototyping new approaches and developing new algorithms, ML techniques such as modeling using deep learning, advanced ML models and privacy preserving algorithms.
• Working with other scientists, engineers and UX experts on the detailed design and implementation of end-to-end solutions, including data-pipelines for machine learning, deployments, performance monitoring and analysis, and continual refinement via feedback loop from real users.
• Staying abreast on current technology trends and research development in relevant areas inside and outside of the company, including attending academic and industrial conferences.
• Partnering with Development teams, Microsoft Research and Product Teams. 

Required/Minimum Qualifications:

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).

• OR 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).
• OR 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).
• OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Vision, or related field.
• Publications in top-tier ML/IR/NLP/CV conferences would be a plus.
• Awareness and understanding of emerging research and technologies.
• Experience in large scale data mining and cloud computing.
• Analytical, problem solving, programming and debugging skills.

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. 

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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.