The Microsoft Research AI Frontiers Lab is on a mission to push the boundaries of what's possible in Artificial Intelligence (AI) — advancing capabilities, efficiency, and safety through breakthroughs in agentic model and systems. Our previous work spanned Small Language Models (Phi, Orca), Synthetic Data Generation (AgentInstruct), Computer Use Models (Fara), and agentic AI systems (AutoGen, MagenticOne, OmniParser), with real-world impact at scale.
We're looking for Senior Principal Researcher to join us in Redmond, WA or New York City, NY and help shape the future of agentic AI.
In this role, you'll develop and implement cutting-edge training methodologies for large language and multimodal models with advanced agentic and reasoning capabilities. Your work contribute to cutting edge research and directly influence state-of-the-art systems used by millions of people worldwide.
Our current focus areas include:
- Reasoning and inference-time compute
- Action models for automating computer use tasks
- Memory and long-horizon task execution
- Multi-agent training and orchestration
The AI Frontiers Lab is a uniquely dynamic environment: multidisciplinary by design, connected to top academic institutions, and committed to open publication. You'll have access to rich, diverse real-world data and the runway to experiment, publish, and make your mark on one of the most consequential fields in technology.
At Microsoft, our mission—to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more—guides how we partner with customers to deliver trusted, impactful solutions. With a growth mindset culture, we innovate responsibly and measure success by shared progress—people, teams, and customers. Join us to do meaningful work that changes the world and helps shape what’s next for everyone.
Responsibilities
- Lead and conduct cutting-edge research in agentic AI, translating insights into practical solutions that ship to millions of users — in close collaboration with researchers, engineers, and product teams.
- Curate high-quality datasets and develop novel training algorithms tailored to agentic and reasoning tasks.
- Design rigorous evaluation frameworks to benchmark model capabilities across reasoning, long-horizon tasks, and multi-agent scenarios.
- Prototype and iterate on new agentic capabilities — from computer use and action models to memory and multi-agent orchestration.
- Drive research from idea to publication, with opportunities to publish at top-tier venues and contribute to the broader scientific community.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Doctorate in relevant field AND 6+ years related research experience
- OR Master's Degree in relevant field AND 7+ years related research experience
- OR Bachelor's Degree in relevant field AND 9+ years related research experience
- OR equivalent experience.
Preferred Qualifications
- Doctorate of Computer Science or relevant field AND 8+ years related research experience
- OR equivalent experience.
- Research program demonstrated by public artifacts like models, tools, code in AI space or publications at the following conferences: NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, NAACL, CVPR, COLT, ECCV, ICCV, EMNLP.
- Experience with building and evaluating frontier models.
- Experience publishing academic papers as a lead author or essential contributor in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
- Experience participating in a top conference in relevant research domain.
- Demonstrable ability to define an ambitious, original research agenda.
- Ability to collaborate, communicate effectively, and technically lead multi-disciplinary team.
- Keen interest in real-world applications and impact.
#Research
Research Sciences IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $165,600 - $296,400 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 $220,800 - $331,200 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 relevant field AND 6+ years related research experience OR Master's Degree in relevant field AND 7+ years related research experience OR Bachelor's Degree in relevant field AND 9+ years related research experience OR equivalent experience.
- Doctorate of Computer Science or relevant field AND 8+ years related research experience OR equivalent experience.
- Demonstrated research program via public artifacts like models, tools, code, or publications at top conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, CVPR, etc.).
- Experience building and evaluating frontier models and publishing academic papers as lead author or essential contributor.
- Experience participating in top conferences in relevant research domains.
- Demonstrable ability to define an ambitious, original research agenda.
- Ability to collaborate, communicate effectively, and technically lead multi-disciplinary teams.
- Keen interest in real-world applications and impact.
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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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is presented as broadly competitive overall, with clear role/level/location variation and an emphasis on using posted ranges and band information for apples-to-apples comparisons.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are described as a standout, highlighted by a strong 401(k) match structure and immediate vesting, plus additional plan features for tax-advantaged saving.
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Parental & Family Support — Family-oriented benefits are portrayed as a meaningful strength, with substantial paid parental leave and added supports like back-up care and adoption/surrogacy assistance.
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.
