Principal Research Scientist

Overview

Generative AI is revolutionizing how we create, share, work with, and consume content. At Microsoft, we run the biggest platform for collaboration and productivity in the world with hundreds of millions of consumer/enterprise users. Tackling AI efficiency challenges is crucial for delivering these experiences at scale.

The M365 Research group at Microsoft is driving applied research and innovation efforts that reimagines how intelligent Agentic systems are built, evaluated, and deployed at enterprise scale. We are working to advance efficiency across AI systems, where we look at novel designs and optimizations across AI stacks: models, AI frameworks, cloud infrastructure, and hardware. We believe that enabling cross-layer optimization is the key to achieve a step-function improvement in AI efficiency and to provide generative AI experiences to more users globally.

We are an Applied Research team driving mid- and long-term product innovations. We closely collaborate with multiple research teams and product groups across the globe who bring a multitude of technical expertise in cloud systems, machine learning and software engineering. We communicate our research both internally and externally through academic publications, open-source releases, blog posts, patents, and industry conferences. Further, we also collaborate with academic and industry partners to advance the state of the art and target material product impact that will affect 100s of millions of customers.

We are looking for a Principal Researcher to drive research on cross-stack optimizations to deliver significant efficiency gains for Large Language Model / Generative AI experiences. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience in model architectures, LLM frameworks, serving infrastructure and/or architecture optimization. We are seeking someone with an interest to work at the intersection of LLMs and systems research, as well as the motivation and ambition to apply this research in a meaningful real-world setting.

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.

Location will be Bangalore, India

Responsibilities

• Conduct novel research to advance the state-of-the-art of efficiency optimizations across AI stacks: models, AI frameworks, cloud infrastructure, and hardware.
• Work with a small group of fellow researchers and product engineering teams to execute on practical innovation for real-world impact.
• Drive the end-to-end research agenda from establishing the problem definition to building algorithms and models, and act as a mentor for more team members.
• Publish and contribute to top scientific conferences and journals.
  
  

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

Doctorate in relevant field AND 3+ years related research experience

• OR Master's Degree in relevant field AND 4+ years related research experience OR Bachelor's Degree in relevant field AND 10+ years related research experience
• OR equivalent experience.
• PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or related field AND 5+ years related research experience OR equivalent experience.
• Research experience and publications in top conferences/journals (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AISTATS, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, ISCA, MICRO, ASPLOS, HPCA, SOSP, OSDI, NSDI, etc.) in at least one of the following areas: natural language processing, statistics, machine learning, and optimization.
• Solid knowledge of state-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLMs), serving infrastructure, and their application in complex systems.
• Hands on experience in improving the design and efficiency of generative AI systems and related frameworks.
• Ability to work independently and in a team, take initiative and lead engagements as required.
  
  

#M365Core #M365Research

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.

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.

---