Job Description

It is an exciting time to be building experiences and devices at Microsoft. There is no organization in the world that is better positioned to fundamentally improve the way that people live and work. Help shape the rapidly evolving productivity landscape by leading and conducting the research needed to create next-generation intelligent systems and drive the company's bold ambitions for productivity forward.

As a member of the Office of Applied Research, your core mission will be to form and help to lead cross-org teams that deliver research that fundamentally impacts Microsoft's products and services. You will also contribute to the scientific community and beyond through presentations, publications, and other outlets (e.g., blogs, press interviews). You will join a team that brings together scientists from many different backgrounds and deeply values the importance of diverse perspectives in the research process. We are looking for candidates who are smart, creative and team-oriented, as well as self-driven, curious, and comfortable with defining their own paths. Successful applicants will collaborate closely with people across Microsoft's product teams, and Microsoft Research, and broad academic community, and will have the opportunities see their ideas realized in products and services that are used worldwide.

* Defining, leading, and helping to conduct research projects that push the state-of-the-art and have direct impact on Microsoft products.
* Collaborating and coordinatingu202Fwith people in a range of roles, including researchers,u202Fengineers, designers, and other key product stakeholders.u202FServingu202Fas a bridge between research and product.u202F
* Teaching, guiding, and tutoring colleagues without research backgrounds in state-of-the-art techniques and research best practices.
* Many of the thingsu202Fyou try shouldu202Flead to unexpected outcomes.u202FYouu202Fmust be comfortable learning from experience, developing new hypotheses, and iterating.u202F
* Sharingu202Fyour researchu202Fwith others via a range of means, including publication,u202Fto enable others to build onu202Fyouru202Fwork and tou202Fcontribute tou202Fthe reputation of our productsu202Fas cutting-edge and science driven.
* Effectively communicating with product leaders (and often MSR researchers) throughout the planning and execution of applied research projects, which often involves learning and teaching complex concepts.

We seek applicants from researchers across all areas of machine learning, artificial intelligence, human-centered AI and related fields and a passion for product impact. Ideal candidates will likely have experience working across field/sub-field or functional boundaries. Examples of current areas of interest include:

* Deep learning
* Privacy-preserving techniques in machine learning
* Human-centered AI
* Reinforcement learning
* Causal inference
* Natural language processing
* Information retrieval
* Program synthesis
* Responsible AI
* Computational social science

Requirements

* Education: PhD in Computer Science or related engineering or science fields required
* A record of publication in top-tier scientific venues (ongoing or in the recent past).
* Strong collaboration skills, both within-team and cross-team
* Excellent problem solving and data analysis skills
* Effective communication skills, both verbal and written
* As part of your application please attach your CV and the names and contact information of at least two established researchers familiar with your research who will be willing to write an academic letter of reference. Of these, one letter should come from your advisor.
* Optionally, you may also attach an academic statement (2-4 pages) that outlines both your research achievements and agenda and up to two papers that highlight your research interests.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.