Principal Applied Scientist

Microsoft’s Path team helps customers along their journey from the initial idea to the final realization of their goals – from Idea 💡to Plan 📋to Done ✅ 

We are responsible for collaborative work management products including Microsoft Project, Planner, To Do, Whiteboard, and Visio. We are actively working to envision and create “The Future of Work” leveraging large language models (LLMs) and Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) to provide utility and value to our customers.  

As an Principal Applied Scientist in Path you will help drive the analysis and quality of the content our agentic system produces and design and conduct experiments to maximize what customers can do with our products. You will also provide consultation and expertise to product and engineering teams on how to structure telemetry, user interface (UI), and software design to bets leverage AI capabilities.

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.

Responsibilities

• You will learn a broad area or research and understand any applicable research techniques. You’ll also serve as a subject matter expert on changes in industry trends, products, and other advances, and apply this knowledge to influence product needs. 
• You will review business and product requirements, incorporate research, and provide strategic direction for problem solving. You’ll also ensure scientific rigor, support the development of methods, and apply your expertise to support business impact. 
• You will identify and inspire peers and new research talent to join Microsoft, build relationships, and advocate for research initiatives. You’ll share research findings through industry outreach, collaborate with the academic community, and help develop the recruiting pipeline. 
• You will document work and experimentation results and share findings to promote innovation. You’ll provide guidance when capturing processes and contribute to ethics and privacy policies related to research processes and data collection. 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications: .

• Bachelor'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 Master'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 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. 
• 4+ years of experience working on a user facing software. 
• 1+ years of experience working on Machine Learning models especially with Natural language-based models, vector databases and graph databases. 

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 Q