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Do you want to shape the future of conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) and build the next generation of intelligent agents at global scale? As a Senior Applied Scientist on the Azure CoreAI team, you’ll have the opportunity to advance state-of-the-art language understanding and question answering technologies, while directly impacting the way customers interact with AI-powered systems.

The Azure Language AI team empowers developers and data scientists around the world and of all skill levels to easily integrate AI capabilities into their apps. The Azure Language AI team provides an extensive array of AI-powered language services and offline solutions to assist customers in building intelligent applications. Joining our team presents a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with highly skilled scientists and engineers while tackling our upcoming major challenges.

What are your top 3 priorities for this position?

+ Advance Conversational AI Models – Drive innovation in Conversational Language Understanding (CLU), Conversational Question Answering (CQA), and prompt optimization by training, fine-tuning, and evaluating large language models (LLMs), small language models (SLMs), and agentic models to push state-of-the-art conversational intelligence.

+ Deliver Production-Ready Solutions – Translate research into scalable, high-quality code and collaborate with engineers to ship solutions that power Azure AI services and directly impact customers.

+ Lead with Science + Strategy – Stay at the forefront of Natural Language Processing (NLP) research and Azure AI advancements, ensuring our services not only meet current customer needs but anticipate and shape future trends in conversational AI.

You’ll be joining the team at the heart of Microsoft Azure’s Conversational AI, where the models you build don’t just live in papers—they power real products used by millions worldwide. We own Conversational Language Understanding, Conversational Q&A, and Prompt Optimization for agentic scenarios, giving you the chance to work on both cutting-edge LLM science and production-scale engineering. If you want to shape the future of how people and businesses interact with AI—and see your work land directly in customer solutions at global scale—this is the team to be on.

You’ll be part of a team that owns Microsoft’s core conversational AI stack, powering experiences across Azure AI. The work you do will not just stay in research papers—it will land in customer-facing services used worldwide. If you thrive at the intersection of cutting-edge science and real-world impact, this role is for you.

Microsoft Culture

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.

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Responsibilities

+ Own end-to-end applied science contributions across Conversational Language Understanding (CLU), Conversational Question Answering (CQA), and Prompt Optimization for agentic scenarios.

+ Design, train, and fine-tune large language models (LLMs), small language models (SLMs), and agentic models, pushing the boundaries of how conversational systems reason and respond.

+ Develop evaluation techniques and metrics that capture both traditional Machine Language (ML) rigor and the nuances of conversational quality.

+ Collaborate closely with software engineers and data scientists to deliver production-ready solutions that enhance chatbot and agentic capabilities for enterprise customers.

+ Stay ahead of the curve by keeping up with NLP research, Azure AI advancements, and emerging conversational AI trends, and apply those insights to practical, scalable products.

+ Translates business goals into actionable plans by applying cutting-edge research.

+ Contribute to innovations that power flagship Microsoft products.

+ Document findings and contribute to publications and open-source efforts.

+ MS Culture & Values: Embody our Culture (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about/corporate-values) and Values (https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/culture) .

Qualifications

Required 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.

+ 2+ years of experience in data curation and synthesis for model optimization

+ 2+ years of hands-on coding experience in Python and frameworks like PyTorch.

+ 2+ years of experience in natural language processing (NLP), with proven experience in training and fine-tuning LLMs/SLMs.

+ 1+ years of experience working in cross-functional teams with engineers and product managers to deliver real-world customer solutions.

+ Experience with both proprietary and open-source frameworks.

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 Qualifications:

+ Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research) OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)

+ OR equivalent experience.

+ 3+ years experience creating publications (e.g., patents, libraries, peer-reviewed academic papers).

+ Experience presenting at conferences or other events in the outside research/industry community as an invited speaker.

+ 3+ years experience conducting research as part of a research program (in academic or industry settings).

+ 1+ years experience developing and deploying live production systems, as part of a product team.

+ 1+ years experience developing and deploying products or systems at multiple points in the product cycle from ideation to shipping.

+ 2+ years of experience in developing GenAI-powered products across multiple stages of the product lifecycle - from initial concept through to final deployment

+ Hands-on experience with agentic model design, prompt optimization, and evaluation methodologies.

+ Deep understanding of traditional ML techniques, along with the ability to innovate with hybrid approaches.

+ Proven track record of impactful research with published work or real-world product deployments · Startup-style mindset: agile, solution-oriented, and self-driven

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 posts positions for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

\#CoreAI

\#LanguageAI

\#Agents

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) .