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Microsoft is a company where passionate innovators come to collaborate, envision what can be and take their careers further. This is a world of more possibilities, more innovation, more openness, and the sky is the limit thinking in a cloud-enabled world.

Microsoft’s Azure Data engineering team is leading the transformation of analytics in the world of data with products like databases, data integration, big data analytics, messaging & real-time analytics, and business intelligence. The products our portfolio include Microsoft Fabric, Azure SQL DB, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure PostgreSQL, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Service Bus, Azure Event Grid, and Power BI. Our mission is to build the data platform for the age of AI, powering a new class of data-first applications and driving a data culture.

Within Azure Data, the databases team builds and maintains Microsoft's operational Database systems. We store and manage data in a structured way to enable multitude of applications across various industries. We are on a journey to enable developer friendly, mission-critical, AI enabled operational Databases across relational, non-relational and OSS offerings.

We research and develop algorithms, tools and libraries to enable AI-based information retrieval for unstructured data in Azure Data products. For example, we build market-leading vector search in multiple data products, for which innovate both on the research and engineering (e.g., see the DiskANN project). We are looking for expertise in one or more of information retrieval, NLP, representation learning, agentic memories, unstructured data processing, interaction between LLM and retrieval systems.

We are looking for a Senior Applied Scientist to join and shape the research and product roadmap for the team in this space.

We do not just value differences or different perspectives. We seek them out and invite them in so we can tap into the collective power of everyone in the company. As a result, our customers are better served.

Responsibilities

+ Establishes collaborative relationships with relevant product and business groups inside or outside of Microsoft and provides expertise or technology to create business impact.

+ Takes initiative and drives activities such as technology transfers attempts, standards organizations, filing patents, authoring white papers, developing or maintaining tools/services for internal Microsoft use, or consulting for product or business groups. May publish research to promote receiving new intellectual property for business impact.

+ Independently works to create product impact. Identifies approach, and applies, improves, or creates a research-backed solution (e.g., novel, data driven, scalable, extendable) to positively impact a Microsoft product or service. Designs an approach to solve significant business problems shared by a senior team member. May publish research to promote receiving new intellectual property for product impact.

+ Brings new technology and approaches into production by applying long-term research efforts to solve immediate product needs. Collaborates with and bridges the gap between researchers (in community across the company, Microsoft Research [MSR], or in their own organizations) and development teams. Begins to negotiate across teams to ensure cutting edge technology is being applied to products in a practical way that meets key business objectives. Develops an understanding of research approaches used across a group or organization to leverage (and not re-invent) solutions.

+ Serves as an expert within product domain. Gains deep knowledge in a complex or highly ambiguous service, platform, or domain. Shares knowledge of changes in industry trends and advances in applied technologies with engineers and product teams to apply advanced concepts to identify product needs and drive action toward solutions. Fosters audience for the product based on understanding of the industry.

+ Identifies possible machine learning formulations that map to the problem and selects the formulation that gives the optimal outcome (e.g., predicting the actual age or age group). Leverages state-of-the-art algorithms that structures, analyzes, and uses data in products and platforms to train algorithms scalable for artificial intelligence solutions before deploying. Uses familiarity of machine learning frameworks (e.g., uses open source libraries) to train algorithms. Collaborates and helps less experienced team members through process.

Embody our culture (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/culture) and values (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about/corporate-values)

Qualifications

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.

+ 1+ years of experience in the one or more of the following areas: information retrieval, NLP, representation learning, agentic memories, unstructured data processing, interaction between LLM and retrieval systems.

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/Additional Qualifications

+ Publications in research conferences in these areas.

+ Experience building and deploying scalable systems in industry.

+ Experience with developing new models for representing text, image and multi-modal data.

Applied Sciences IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $158,400 - $258,000 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

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until October 17th, 2025.

\#azdat

\#azuredata

\#retrieval #recsys #memory #vectors #representation #embeddings #rag #nlp

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, 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 and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html) .